Of Time, Space and Beyond Humanity Volume 2
by RYNOman78
Summary: After gaining my new "ability", my life has changed in ways I thought were impossible. Little did I realise that immortality was the first of my problems, and that I'd become more than just a man...
1. Ch-ch-changes

**Of Time, Space and Beyond Humanity Volume 2**

 _When the deadly world of Doctor Who merges with mine, nothing is safe. To end this nightmare, I am sent back through time to find the one person capable of doing so. But what if my actions cause the very future I am trying to save? Well, as a wise man once said: "The future is whatever you make it! So make it a good one!"_

 **Chapter 1- Ch-ch-Changes**

 **A/N - Hi. Really sorry it took a long time to make this chapter. The irony's not lost on me that I'm putting out the Christmas episode in the middle of Summer. But, despite that, I _have_ been busy trying to make this one of my great "works", with a lot of it still dependant on the vanilla episode with just as much interaction from Marty and Jack, to bump up their relationship.**

 **Also, starting from this chapter, I will be sprinkling in as much of the music title as I can, to essentially enhance the mood. Since this is David Bowie, expect either parts of the song, or emphasis on parts. Either way, enjoy.**

Immediately, he leapt to the controls like nothing had happened while Rose tried to recover from the shock.

I, however, was a little more forgiving, and asked "How do you feel?"

"Me? Never felt better!" he replied, going to plot the course. "6pm. Tuesday. October. 5006 on the way to Barcelona!"

"Now then" he said, turning to face us. "What do I look like?"

Before we had a chance to answer, he continued "No. No, no, no, no, no. _No._ don't tell me" before he conducted his own "investigation."

"Let's see. 2 legs. 2 arms. 2 hands. Ooh" the new Doctor muttered, rotating his right wrist. "Slight weakness in the dorsal tubrical."

He then ran his hands through his hair. " _Hair!_ " he exclaimed. "I'm not bald. Oh. _Big_ hair. _Sideburn_ _s_! I've got _sideburns_! Ooh. Really bad skin."

The Doctor then turned his attention to his torso, saying "Little bit thinner. That's weird. Give me time, I'll get used to it."

Pausing for a moment as I still let him have his "time", the Doctor then murmured "I have got a _mole_. I can feel it. Right between my shoulder blades. There's a _mole_. That's alright. Love the mole" he grinned again, before remembering we were with him.

"So, what do you think?" he asked the two of us.

"Who are you?" Rose asked, as the Doctor and I exchanged a look of confusion.

"He's the Doctor" I answered, as she still looked on in shock.

"It can't be" she muttered. "Where's the Doctor? What have you done to him?"

"Nothing" the Doctor replied, still looking at me in confirmation. "You just saw me change, right in front of you."

"It's her first time seeing you regenerate" I added helpfully. "That's bound to put _anyone_ off."

" _True_ " the Doctor nodded. "At least _you're_ taking this well. I think the last person who'd been through the ringer regarding regeneration was..."

He tried to recall the name, but threw out tidbits instead while smacking his head. "Girl. Loud."

"You'll have to be more specific" I laughed. "There's been _many_ like that."

"Short. American" he said, and I finally knew who he meant.

"Peri?" I asked.

" _That's_ her! Shame what happened to her, though."

"A-Am I missing something?" Rose asked, who'd almost been ignored at this point.

"Yes. Sorry" I replied, as we tried to get back on track. "Long story. He's the Doctor in a new body. You heard him say about the process before he changed. What more do you need to know?"

"He-he sort of exploded" Rose reasoned, not believing us, "And then was replaced, like-like a teleport, or a transporter or a bodyswap or something. You two may have been in this together, but you're not fooling me. I've seen all sorts of things. Nanogenes, Gelth, Slitheen. Oh, my God" she wondered. "You're not a Slitheen, are you?"

"I'm not a Slitheen" he replied, as I lifted my hair up to show her a lack of a zip as proof.

Still not convinced, Rose said "Send him back. I'm warning you. Send the Doctor back right now!"

"Rose" the Doctor replied. "It's me. Honestly, it's me. I was dying. To save my own life, I changed my body. Every single cell, but still me" he smiled.

"But you can't be" she said again.

"Then, how could I remember this?" he asked, stepping towards Rose and whispering "First word I ever said to you. Trapped in that cellar. Surrounded by shop window dummies. _Ooh_ , such a long time ago. I took your hand" he did the same here, "I said one word. Just one word. I said "run"."

"Doctor?" Rose whispered back.

"Hello" he answered, smiling once more, before running around the controls, yelling "And we never stopped, did we?"

"Penny finally dropped?" I asked Rose with a smile, as she stood back against one of the supports. "Yeah. That happens with most new-comers."

"How-how are you ok with this?" she asked, noticing the obvious.

"Hate to repeat myself" I replied, "but, long story."

"Is there a short version?"

"I _may_ have watched this in the future" I said. "And through that, I became ok with him changing."

"You watched this? How?"

Quoting the Doctor, and trying to think of the _least_ complicated reason, I replied "Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey."

"You'll find out later" I said to the man in question, who gazed over with a puzzled look on his face. "Or sooner. Time travel's confusing enough as it is. All the pens in the world would dry out before I even wrote you one page on the subject."

"Just stop before you ramble on" the Doctor replied with a laugh. "That's usually _my_ job."

"It's nice to have you back, though" I said, going in to give him a hug.

Accepting it, the Doctor replied "I never went anywhere. _Well_ , maybe I _did_ , or at least that _previous_ version of me, but it's still me. Albeit in a new body, but still same old Doctor."

"Can you change back?" Rose asked, breaking the mood as our hug ended.

"Do you want me to?"

"Yeah."

"Oh" the Doctor considered, before replying "No" to answer Rose's question of " _Can_ you?"

"Do you want to leave?" I asked, knowing how tough this would be for her.

"Do you _want_ me to leave?"

" _No_ " the Doctor insisted. "Your choice, if you want to go home."

"Better cancel the Barcelona trip" I said, turning that navigation off. I still didn't want to activate the Tardis' voice, not until the Doctor was ok with it. And, given how new this regeneration was, I didn't want to ask until he'd "grown" into it, so to speak.

"Change to" the Doctor continued, taking over "The Powell Estate. Let's say 24th of December. What do you say?" he asked Rose, who was still timid. "Call it an early Christmas present."

"There you go" I said, as the Doctor's hands left the controls.

"We're going home?" Rose asked.

"Up to you" I replied. "Back to your mum. It's all waiting. Sausage and mash. Beans on toast."

" _No_ " the Doctor realised, recalling the date. "Christmas. Turkey. _Although_ , having met your mother, a nut loaf would be more appropriate."

As Rose let out the faint hint of a smile, the two of us noticed at once.

"Was that a smile?" I teased.

"No."

"That was a _smile_ " the Doctor joined in.

"No, it wasn't."

"You _smiled_ " I smirked again.

"No, I didn't" Rose insisted.

"Oh, come on" the Doctor protested. "I just changed. I didn't..."

He then recoiled as his face contorted slightly in pain.

"Doctor, are you alright?" I asked, afraid of what was happening.

He tried to respond, but it just happened again.

"Uh-oh" he said at last.

"Uh-oh, what?" I asked, before Rose and I were treated to the reason.

The Doctor breathed out a piece of regeneration energy, making me wonder.

"This isn't supposed to happen, is it?" I asked him.

"The change went a bit wrong" he replied, before nearly choking and collapsing.

"Look" Rose said, as I tried to help the Doctor up. "Maybe we can go back. Let's go and find Captain Jack. He'll know what to do."

"Rose, trust me" I grunted, heaving the Doctor up. "You don't want to do that."

"He's got plenty to do" the Doctor added, staggering slightly. "Rebuilding the Earth."

He then noticed a switch at the bottom of the console and muttered "I haven't touched _this_ one in years."

"Doctor, don't!" I shouted, knowing what it did.

Too late, and he'd pressed it, making the Tardis accelerate more towards our destination.

"What are you doing?" Rose asked, clutching the console for dear life.

"Just putting on a little more _speed_ " came the energetic response as the Doctor dashed to the controls again. "Beautiful ship. Come on. _Faster_! Thata girl!"

I shared a look with Rose that just said "I'm sorry about this" as the Doctor asked us "What do you think? Faster? Do you want to break the time limit?"

"Doctor, stop it!" we both yelled out in frustration, which was immediately ignored by his efforts to keep our momentum going.

"Don't be so daft. How about a bit of _fun_?" he shouted, punching the air. "Let's _rip_ through that vortex."

As soon as he said that, he knew something was wrong and said so, before moaning "Ohh, my head" and going back into his "new" persona.

" _Faster!_ Let's open all those engines all the way!"

The second he finished that sentence, an alarm bell rang out. Recognising it from the schematics, I said out loud "Oh, that's not good. That's not good _at all._ "

"Why? What is it?" Rose asked in fear.

"We're crash-landing" the Doctor replied happily.

"Well, _do_ something!" she ordered.

"I _would_ " I replied, struggling to make my way around the controls, "If it wasn't for Mr. Hyperactive over here!"

"You're gonna _kill_ us!" Rose told the Doctor.

"Hold on tight!" the Doctor told us, as I just about found the flight controls. "Here we go. Christmas Eve."

We didn't even offer a reply as we were unfortunately taken for the rest of the ride until we'd "arrived" at our destination.

Or, rather _Rose_ was taken for a ride. _I_ however didn't even _get_ that luxury. The Doctor's "driving" had been so bad for me that I'd _literally_ just touched my fingertips against the flight controls before I was flown against the wall like a rag doll, hitting one of the supports and breaking my back, and then fell to the floor, "apparently" dead. I lay there in my state until I'd heard Mickey come back to check up on me, where _he_ was the one with the rude awakening.

"Oh, my God" he exclaimed in shock as I woke back up, gasping for breath again. "A-are you ok?"

"I could ask you the same thing" I replied, groaning and finding my voice. "Not every day you see _two_ people come back from the dead."

" _Three_ " Mickey clarified. "Rose might as well have been dead thanks to the Doctor."

"If it wasn't for her, she wouldn't be here right now" I said, as Mickey pulled me up.

"It's complicated" I laughed, reading his face. "Time travel does that to you."

"Speaking of which..." I said, noticing the now comatose Tardis, "Where are they?"

"Rose and the Doctor?"

"Yeah."

"They're in Rose's flat" Mickey said. "Jackie and I lifted him into there and they've been looking after him for a bit. I came back here because Rose didn't know about you. Can't wait to tell her, though."

"It-it's best _I_ tell her" I replied. "Or, at least some of it."

"What do you mean?" Mickey asked, as he helped me out of the Tardis and he locked the door behind us.

"I mean, there are some things left unsaid" I told him, then noticed the key in the lock. "Rose give you hers?"

"Well, you weren't exactly around to ask."

"Touche" I smiled, as Mickey put the key back in his pocket. "Although, if it'll make you feel a bit better, I'll tell you what I know about the Doctor."

"Oh, really?" Mickey scoffed. "Go on."

"He's 900 years old, this is his 10th regeneration and, as you've probably seen, he tends to be a bit… "out of character", shall we say."

"That's putting it lightly" Mickey muttered, as we neared Rose's flat. "Why _is_ that, anyway?"

"He's trying to get accustomed to his new body" I answered, before chuckling at Mickey's raised eyebrows. "Not like _that_ " I said, before thinking _"Then again, it's been 900 years. There's bound to be_ _ **some**_ _form of a Jackson Pollock in there._ "

"What I mean is that it's like buying a new computer" I explained to Mickey. "You need to test everything out and leave it for a while, just to see if it's running properly. Then, after a while, you use it as much as you can, until the next "model" arrives. That's what the Doctor's going through. Not "performance issues", but just the start-up installation."

"Thanks for the heads-up" he replied, before we finally arrived at Rose's door.

"No problem" I told him, as we both knocked and waited for an answer.

"Is that Mickey?" I heard Jackie call out from the other side.

"Probably" Rose replied. "I'll go and check. You stay here."

We heard the footsteps approaching, the lock being undone and finally the door opening, to reveal Rose, whose mouth was now agape in shock at the fact that I was still in front of her.

"M-Marty?" she asked, probably wondering if she was dreaming or not.

"Surprise" I said sheepishly, as Mickey let himself in with us. "Before you say anything, I can explain."

"You'd better" Rose said, recovering and making sure no-one else was with us before closing the door.

Once closed, she gave me a hug and said "I thought you were _dead_."

"Well, you're not wrong" I replied, as she took me into where the Doctor was so I could see him.

"If you want to know about me, you need to shut the door" I told her.

After Rose had done that, I asked "Do you know what happened when you went back to the Game Station?"

"Bits and pieces" she answered, honestly. "It's like a bunch of fuzzy pictures that don't make sense. The last thing I remember is looking into the Tardis, then..."

"Then it's a massive blank" I finished. I then took a deep breath. "Before I tell you, are you _sure_ you want to know what happened?"

"Why?" Rose asked, a little scared. "Nothing bad happened there, right?"

"Quite the opposite in fact" I smiled. "In fact, you _saved_ a lot of people."

I then gave her my version of events from what I'd watched on TV, but also omitted Jack's "contribution", because I felt Rose would be feel better if she just made me alive.

"Because I was already dead, I didn't see the immediate effects; only the aftermath, but what _had_ happened was something amazing" I started.

"You see, the Daleks had completely surrounded the Doctor and myself, only they took me out first because I was the last one with a weapon, aside from him with the Delta Wave.

Then, about 20 seconds later, you show up in the Tardis and spill her energy out like it's the light at the end of the tunnel. The Dalek Emperor, who wants to watch the Doctor fall is now _terrified_ of you because you are like a goddess. And you _prove_ this by stopping the blast of a Dalek and sending it right back into the gun.

Second, you _create_ the Bad Wolf message as yourself to send yourself there by scattering the words throughout time and space, all so both you and I will know their meaning.

 _Then_ , you look at what the Emperor's presence has been through time and space and deem him tiny, before reducing him and the rest of the Dalek army in that year to ash.

But, after that..." I said, noticing how Rose was still enthralled in this. "Then, the Doctor pleaded with you, telling you that you couldn't control everything like a god. Saying that you couldn't control life and death. You disagreed with him, and then ended up bringing me back to life. Permanently.

After that, I woke back up in my new life, to watch the Doctor absorb the time energy from you and expel as much of it as he could back into the Tardis. The tail end of it you know."

"So, you're immortal?" Rose asked, as I finished my story.

"Pretty much" I nodded sadly. "I mean, I knew straight away, but I didn't have a proper chance to get to grips with it, until the Doctor showed me otherwise."

"I _am_ sorry, by the way" Rose said, as we both looked over the sleeping man in question. "I mean, he just staggered out of the Tardis after we'd crash-landed in front of mum and Mickey, and I tried to explain to them who he was. I didn't know if you were still alive because of the Tardis getting banged-up and the Doctor's condition, and in the end, I asked Mickey to go down and check your body, to see if you were alive."

"And here I am, almost as fit as a fiddle" I replied, moving my arm about slowly. "Sorry if I'm a bit jerky. It's just… "healing" might take a while. I mean, I can still feel my spine slowly move back into shape. Not sure how long it'll be before I'm back to basics."

"Well, if you want to be healing, why not stay here with the Doctor?" Rose asked. "You both look like you could use the rest."

"What about you?" I asked. "Are you alright?"

"Not really, but I'll manage. That, and I want to get to the shops with Mickey before they close."

"Oh, alright then" I laughed. "Just make sure to phone if anything happens, ok?"

"You think something's gonna happen?" Rose asked, as I gave her my number.

"Rose, it's the Doctor" I said. "Wherever he is, trouble is always 2 steps behind him."

"Fair enough" she reasoned, before closing the door behind her.

She opened it a few seconds later and added "Oh yeah. I forgot to tell you. Harriet Jones is Prime Minister."

"Who would have thought it?" I asked rhetorically as Rose closed the door behind her for a second time.

I then sat down in a nearby chair, worn out from getting battered against the Tardis and then plunged back into life.

Knowing there was only one person who shared my "symptoms" I called Jack, making sure it was the "new" one, and not the one I'd called on the Game Station.

"Hello" he said at once, and I at once felt at ease talking to him again.

"Hi, buddy" I said, doing my best to not reveal his name in case the Doctor was somehow listening. "Merry Christmas."

"You too, Marty. You too."

I heard Jack then take a pause and then say "I don't know why you'd be calling me at this time of year, aside from the obvious. Something happen to you?"

"Something like that" I replied. "Let's just say we're now… "equal" in our line of work."

"Equal in what way?"

"When you got your _new_ life, I also got the same treatment."

"Oh, God" I heard Jack mutter to himself, before asking "And, how was it?"

"Physically, painful" I said. "I only just told Rose, and she seems to be taking it pretty well."

"How _is_ she?" Jack asked. "I mean, I only saw her a few times growing up, but..."

"Timelines" I summarised. "Yeah. I know."

Jack then asked "When did _you_ know about it?"

"Right away" I replied. "If it wasn't for the Doctor, I would be getting a test done later, just to be sure it was correct."

"What happened?"

"You know the way he's not a good driver?"

"...Yeah?"

"Tossed against the wall, flung into a support where I broke my back, and hit the floor" I listed. "It wasn't until we'd crashed that I woke back up."

" _Ooh_ " Jack winced. "Oh, yeah. As first, or in your case _second_ deaths go, that's a bad way to go out."

"You still haven't told me about _your_ first time" I said, realising. "Aside from the obvious."

"Statten Island, 1892. Man shot me through the heart. Woke up later, completely healed. Well, not _completely_ , but you get the idea."

"Yeah. I do" I said. "My spine's still in the process of reforming even as we speak."

"So, is that why you called me?" Jack asked. "Sympathy card?"

"Who else am I gonna talk to about this type of thing?" I asked. "Wolverine? Deadpool?"

"Smart-ass" Jack chuckled, before saying "But really. Why'd you call?"

"Because our "employers" are about to make a big impact very soon" I said, hoping he got the message. "But before that, I'm going to give you a hand in where to start."

"Tell me where" Jack replied, as I heard him rustle for a pen and paper.

"River Thames" I told him. "Just look for the Hand of Sauron. You'll know when."

"I'll come right away" Jack said. "Give me a few hours and I'll be there for Christmas."

"What about where you are?" I asked, cautiously. "Any more… runaways we need to watch out for?"

"Thankfully, no. I think they're hibernating for the season. That won't stop them come the new year, but for now, they're good. If I need your help again, I'll call."

"Good speaking to you again" I said, before we ended. "Goodnight, and take care."

"Goodbye, Marty. Merry Christmas."

With that, Jack hung up the phone in a slightly happier way than the last time.

I took a look at the Doctor to make sure he was still sleeping and that no regeneration energy was breathing out of him.

Thankfully, there wasn't, and so, being as weary as I was, rested my eyes and let time be my healer as my injuries slowly faded away.

To say I got a wake-up call would be an understatement.

My phone vibrated in my pocket which woke me up.

Focusing on the blurry screen, I read one 4 letter word that ended with E and answered.

"Hello?" I asked, as Rose's panicked voice came from the other end.

"Marty, you need to get out of there" she told me. "Some others have found the Doctor."

 _That_ woke me up fully, making me jump out of my seat.

"Who did?" I asked, running towards the front door. "And where are you?"

"I don't know who" she replied. "Robot Santas, if that rings a bell."

I unlocked the door as Rose continued "We're right under you. Get the Doctor ready to move."

"Will do" I said, hanging up and then turning to Jackie, who was still on the phone as if nothing had changed.

"Get off the phone" I mouthed to her, which, with Jackie being Jackie, did fuck all.

"I'm busy" she mouthed back, making me run back into the Doctor's room and search for the sonic screwdriver as well as his key. I didn't have mine on me as it was still in my Tardis bedroom, where I'd neglected to lift it.

"Come on, where are you?" I whispered, feeling around in the infinite depths of his coat.

At last I found them, just as Rose and Mickey burst into the flat, yelling at Jackie to get off the phone.

Mickey yelled out to me to check if I was still here.

"With the Doctor" I answered, making my appearance known.

I then placed the sonic screwdriver in his hand to save us the time and bother, then put the key in his dressing gown for an emergency.

"He's still out" I said to Rose and Mickey as I joined the three of them in the living room, then Rose noticed something that had apparently slipped all 3 of our minds, but not Jackie's.

"Mum" Rose said, looking at the tree that was now in the corner of the living room. "Where'd you get that tree? That's a _new_ tree."

"I thought it was you" Jackie replied.

"How can it be me?"

"You went shopping. There was a ring at the door, and there it was."

"No, that wasn't me."

"Then who was it?"

"Whoever was after you" I said, realising in shock as the lights started to come on the tree by themselves.

"Oh, you're kidding me" Rose muttered, summing up all of our thoughts.

The tree began rotating, until it was like an upright spinning top, where it was moving at almost super-human speed, and most certainly capable of ending our lives. Or, at least 3 out of the 4 of us.

It broke through the table as it came towards us, then Mickey told Rose and Jackie to get out.

"Don't leave the Doctor!" I shouted, as he and I held up chairs to protect ourselves.

"Mickey, go!" I yelled to him, noticing that his chair was almost completely in pieces. "I can handle it."

He did that, as my chair fell apart a few seconds later.

"Here we go again" I muttered, closing my eyes and taking the brunt of the tree as it tore through me and my clothes. At least if it went through _me_ , it would buy them more time.

I was gone in just a few seconds, eviscerated by the branches and leaving blood on the walls. Not to say that wasn't the _only_ mess made by that thing, but, in a somewhat morbid way, it made it a bit more festive.

* * *

It's at this point I should say what being immortal, or at least this _kind_ of immortal feels like.

To me, it's one long loading screen in a video game. You die, wait to respawn at a nearest checkpoint, and then you're forced back out, with only the physical and mental presence to guide you.

However, this also means that waiting in that dark, agonising, wretched place makes you feel every _second_ of your body being re-attached the way it left, only in reverse.

In _my_ case, bone reconnected to bone, one piece at a time. Muscles and nerves came next, and this is the part that made it the most painful of all. Being naked and feeling everything all at once in a physical sense, with nothing to cover you up until the skin regrew, inch by inch, until you're "a new man" so to speak.

The amount of time taken to conduct this Frankenstein process dictates how long it'll be before you fully awaken.

Jack said the quickest it had taken him to heal fully _without_ me there was 10 minutes, and that was just from a bullet to the head. At least he didn't get ripped to pieces by a moving tree.

He'd also said that to him, it felt like being dragged over broken glass whenever he was brought back. I just felt like I was getting stitched up by a drunk surgeon who was somehow able to to conduct his job.

Either way, dying is another part of life for me. As is constant revival.

 _"Still don't know what I was waiting for. And my time running wild. A million dead-end streets. And every time I thought I'd got it made, it seemed the taste was not so sweet."_

* * *

I woke up, gasping for breath again what must have been hours later, lying in the Doctor's bedroom, thankfully wearing another pair of pajamas with another dressing gown Jackie had found. I guess Rose must have told Jackie about me, or she thought it was best to do this to me.

"Oh, my God" Rose said, jumping up as she heard me.

"Hi again" I smiled, holding her hand. "So, what did I miss?"

Rose then filled me in after calming down, saying that thanks to my efforts of putting the sonic screwdriver in the Doctor's hand, he'd stopped the tree quicker and told the 3 of them what had been after them.

"Pilot fish" Rose said "That's what he called those Santa robots. They then teleported away before the Doctor collapsed. He said we'd woken him up too soon, and that before he fell back asleep, the pilot fish meant that something was coming."

"With the Doctor, that could be anything" I said. "Slitheen, Gelth, Judoon. You name it."

Noticing the confusion on her face I explained "Space rhinos. Think of them as intergalactic police."

"I'll take your word for it" Rose replied as she turned to walk away.

"How?" I asked, taking a deep breath. "How did your mum take… me?"

"Given that this is all new to everyone here, she took it as well as you'd think" Rose said, looking back at me. "The tree was one thing, but seeing someone brought back to life like _that_ is something else. I think Christmas is the _last_ thing on her mind now."

"So, you're the one who got me these?" I asked, changing the subject and looking down at my attire. "What, were they a present for Mickey?"

I laughed, but Rose was cold.

"Oh, they _were_ " I said. "Ah."

"How long have I been out?" I asked her, trying to change the subject. "Hard to keep track of time when you're "undead"."

"It's been about 3 hours" Rose said. "Most of that time was spent cleaning up both you and the flat."

"I'm sorry" I replied. "If I had known how visceral it was, I would have gone with Mickey too. I didn't mean to put you through that."

"Hopefully, it won't happen again" added Rose. "Even though you said trouble is 2 steps behind the Doctor."

"And it doesn't ever stop" I said, finishing the conversation and handing Rose the glass back. "I'll stay with him again. You go on and enjoy yourself."

Before she closed the door behind her, Rose whispered "Merry Christmas, Marty."

"You too, Rose" I said. "You too."

Not even 5 minutes later, after I'd made myself more comfortable, I got a call from Jack.

It seemed like my phone had survived the ordeal, being near the Doctor during that assault.

"What is it?" I asked, trying to stay awake.

"Catch you at a bad time?" Jack inquired.

"More or less" I said. "I've just woken up _again_ , and I've a feeling that even for _you_ , a bucket is required."

"That bad, huh?"

"You tell me" I said, feeling the Doctor's forehead. "You ever been ripped apart by a tree before?"

"Once or twice during WW2."

"What about one spinning at 1000Rpm? _That_ happen to you?"

"Oh, no. _That's_ a new one" I heard Jack wince again. "So, how bad was it?"

"Which bit? Death, reconstruction, or the aftermath?"

"All of the above."

"A few seconds and it was over at the start" I said. "The second bit took the longest, because every piece was stitched back together, one seam at a time. As for the aftermath, I've only just woke up, so I haven't seen it. But from what Rose told me, it's certainly making it a _red_ Christmas, rather than a white one."

"Gotcha" Jack replied. "I was gonna say something, but it slipped my mind. What was it…?"

It took him a few seconds to recall. "Oh, yeah. That's right. I've set up in London in a nearby hotel, about 5 minutes away. Got some of the gear sorted out. Watching the news right now. Are you?"

"Not really" I replied. "Been kind of busy lately."

"Sorry. Force of habit. But, you really _should_ watch the news. That Martian probe they're talking about? It's about to be famous for the wrong reasons."

"How much do you know about it?"

"Only what I've heard from stories. It was nearly at Mars, then hitched a ride on an alien ship. After that" Jack broke off. "That's where the stories split."

"So, what's _your_ take on it?"

"My guess? They're either scavengers, or war-lovers. If they see something like a trophy, they'll take it, then tell the "owner" how much it means to them."

"And how much of this ends peacefully?" I asked, rhetorically.

"We've both been there, Marty. Peace is once in a blue moon compared to these folks. Just watch your back, even though you're like me now."

"No-one else talked to you?" I wondered. "Anyone "outside" of us two?"

"If you mean the big bosses, no" Jack said. "When I took over Cardiff, I made sure to wipe that slate clean. Torchwood hasn't said anything since I've been in office. Even though we both know that's gonna bite us both in the ass later."

"Keep your head down" I replied. "We both know them, all too well. And you know I'm not lying about that "big" impact part, even _with_ the tech we have."

"No arguments there. If there are updates to this, I'll keep you posted. And, if you want a drink, I'll meet you outside my place. Talk to you later, Marty."

"Goodnight" I said, before I hung up the phone again and put it in my pocket.

"Either I go back to sleep and heal up, or stay awake and be engrossed in this" I muttered, before looking at the Doctor, who was close to shaking at this point.

Instantly, I grabbed the stethoscope Rose had left by the bed and listened for his heartbeats.

"Okay, that's one working" I said, then tried to hear the other one.

Nothing happened. Not a sound from his other heart.

I tried again. Still nothing from him.

"Third time lucky?" I asked, hoping it would work.

Nope. Nada. Not a peep.

I then got anxious, and hammered the door.

"Rose!" I shouted. "You need to come here!"

"What is it?" she asked, as I opened the door for her.

"I was about to go to sleep, but I wanted to check on how he was holding up" I said, giving her the stethoscope. "Listen to him."

So she did, listening to his good heart first then the bad heart.

"Oh, my God" Rose said, as we came to the same conclusion.

"He's not going to last long with this regeneration if this keeps up" I replied. "We have to do something."

"We can't do anything at the moment" Rose said. "We have to stay here."

"In case more killer trees show up again?" I asked. " _Great_ plan."

"Well, then, what do _you_ suggest? Dying and causing my mum _more_ worry?" Rose fumed. "The only reason you're here is because we feel sorry for you. If you don't want to help, then just go."

"Fine" I said angrily, knowing I couldn't do anything at the moment. I got what I could from the room and opened the door. "I'm keeping these, by the way. I'm not going out naked" I pointed at my pajamas and the dressing gown. "Give me the Tardis key. It's in his dressing gown pocket."

"I thought _you_ had one" Rose said, lifting it out.

"I _did_ , but it's inside my Tardis bedroom. I need _that_ key to get _my_ key. Besides, you have one, right?" I asked.

"Yes, ok" Rose replied, grumpily. "I do have one, in my pocket."

"Then, hold onto yours" I said. "If I'm leaving and locking the Tardis after me, you need to have a way of making sure it's just us who have access to it. Alright?"

"Alright" Rose sighed, as I walked out from the flat, trying not to slip on the stairs.

As I touched the ground, I called Jack again.

"Didn't think I'd hear from you again so soon" he said. "What happened?"

"Meet me outside the Tardis and I'll tell you" I replied. "You probably passed it on the way here. And bring a few torches. We'll need them."

"Yeah. It's not that hard for people like us to notice her" Jack said. "Ok. See you soon. Bye."

"Bye" I finished, making my way around to the Tardis.

I got there about a minute before Jack showed up, dressed in his signature coat, a scarf around his neck, and a cap that made him look like he was still a paperboy.

"Oh, this is rich" he laughed as he approached me. "Didn't think I'd see you dressed like _this_ on Christmas."

"I've seen you in worse" I replied, with a smile. "Christmas or otherwise."

"True" Jack said, handing me his other torch. "So, what's the story with the Tardis?"

"Not here" I answered, putting the key in the lock. "You never know who's listening. We need to get inside and talk."

"You sound even more like a conspiracy theorist than _I_ do" Jack chuckled, as I let him in first, while I pocketed the key and closed the door behind us.

"What happened to the lights?" Jack asked, turning on his torch and looking around the dark emptiness of the Tardis.

"The Tardis is inoperable because of the Doctor" I said, doing the same. "That's why I needed the torches."

"What, is there a power cut here or something?"

"Not exactly" I replied, thinking how much I could tell him. "The Doctor's going through a bit of a… hibernation, and until he wakes up, the Tardis is… not exactly dead, just on sleep mode."

"So, why did you need _me_?" Jack wondered, as we progressed to my bedroom.

"Aside from the company?" I asked, turning back to him. "The truth is, Rose was fed up with me staying with her and the Doctor while he was sleeping, and the fact that I'd be dying a lot to protect him, which isn't the best thing for _anyone_ right now. So, I decided to come to the one place I'd feel somewhat at home with a person I was familiar with. And to get that drink you offered me."

"That was only if you came to _my_ place" Jack pointed out with a smile. "Not sure if anywhere is gonna be open at..."

He glanced at his watch.

"God. Is it 11.30 already?"

"Really?" I asked. "I guess time flies when you're supposed to be dead."

"Early deaths still bothering you?" Jack asked, concerned.

"A little" I sighed, looking down. "I don't know how you manage it."

"I don't think I _do_ " Jack replied, doing the same. "Or ever _will_. I just try to survive every day as best as I can. Which, given _our_ lifespan, is one hell of a time. Sorry I couldn't be of more help."

"It's ok" I said, reaching my door. "At least you're not alone here, and that you can teach me more things from experience."

"Marty, trust me. Second-hand experience is nothing. To know exactly what to do in those situations, it _needs_ to be first-hand. I can show you what _I_ did, but I don't know if that's going to help _you_."

"I'll take something over nothing" I told him. "You mind staying outside while I get changed?"

"Sure, no problem" Jack said, as I opened the door to my room, torch still in hand.

I found my bed and placed the torch on it, pointing it at the wardrobe. A thin streak of light shone towards it, which meant that I'd have to find something else to hold the torch in place to fully show my options.

After a few minutes, I managed to rig up a stack of books and boxes I'd been using to improve my weapons, and balanced the torch on it. This gave me just the right amount of space and height to sort exactly through my clothes.

In the end, I changed into jeans, green and red trainers, and, because I was feeling "festive", a Die Hard t-shirt, which was of John and his catchphrase. What can I say? It was either that, or one from Elf with Will Ferrell yelling his head off, and I chose the better option.

"Marty? Are you nearly done in there?" Jack asked, as I put on a thick, brown overcoat and lifted my torch, after folding both the pajamas and the dressing gown onto the bed and then lifted my key so I could lock the Tardis behind us.

"Yeah. That's me now" I said, walking out. "Why? You worried?"

"No. I just wanted to tell you something that I'd forgot to earlier."

"Ok" I replied, finding Jack's face with my torch. "What is it?"

"You know the way you wanted me to look into Tosh and that descendant of Gwyneth?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I've thought about what you said, and combined with our experiences, we needed a new team."

"You've recruited?"

"Yep."

"When?"

"After I dropped you off. In between sorting our our two hotheads and the other problem, I was able to get others involved in our cause."

"Nice" I replied, as we neared the console. "What are they like?"

"They're good people" Jack replied. "I mean, I still feel bad about getting them involved in our lives, but the more the merrier."

"And how much have you told them about us?" I asked, cautiously.

"If by "us" you mean how we know each other, I said that you joined up after your parents died" Jack answered. "I mean, the bare minimum of details, but a good story none the less."

"Do they know about… the rebirth?"

"No. _God_ no. They only know about my name and where/how we both operate. _That's_ enough on their plates for now. If I told them, or even worse, _showed_ them what _both_ of us are like, they'd panic and tell others. And I don't want that to happen again."

"I'm sorry" I told him. "Your history aside, I don't think _anyone_ would take that lightly, especially not the people at the _heart_ of it."

" _Tell_ me about it" Jack murmured, before looking up at the console pillar.

"You managed to get the program running yet?" he wondered, "Or have you not got around to it yet?"

"I was going to" I said. "Then, the whole… immortality thing happened, and then _this_. It's only been private to, well, the _three_ of us, and I didn't want anyone else to notice until the Doctor recovered."

Jack said nothing for a few seconds, as he pondered what to do. He then spoke, saying "Come on, then, Marty. We both need that drink."

We then walked out of the Tardis, making sure no-one else was around to watch us, locking the door and then made our way to Jack's hotel.

"You shouldn't be out this late" the old woman at the reception said to Jack as he flashed her a grin. "It's not right for a man of your age."

"Don't worry, honey" he replied, leading us up to his room. "I'm careful, when I need to be."

He unlocked the door with a key and let me in first. It was what you'd expect out of a hotel, and Jack's "requirements". A single bed with a sofa, a table for guests, a TV with a desk, and of course, a bathroom.

Laying there on the table was what Jack had brought with him for aliens.

A rack of surgical equipment, 5 types of pistols, both ballistic and energy, and on its own type of plinth, a jar with a handle attached to it. Plus, he'd brought along a laptop to keep track of any Internet activity.

"I see _you've_ been busy" I laughed, noticing how he'd placed the items out. "I haven't seen this much structure since Silence of the Lambs."

"What can I say? I like to be organised" Jack smiled, closing the door.

He went over to the desk and opened a drawer underneath, revealing a mini-bar.

"Help yourself" he announced, as I picked my poison, so to speak.

Before we tried to gain any intel, I took the time to go into the bathroom and properly look in the mirror at myself, to make sure that what was reflected was the true version of my life.

I still couldn't believe after all this time how much I'd forgotten to actually "remember" who I was, and how much I'd changed in so much time.

To start, before I even met Jack, and before my world became the wasteland it turned out to be, I was a skinny little bastard of 5'8, who could barely do an arm wrestle without complaining about it. After I started my "survival" journey, I became more aggressive and built, though still retaining my wiry frame.

That all changed when Jack took me in, and he helped to change my body into something that actually _could_ fight back against aliens. I was now full of enough muscle to both take a fair amount of hits, as well as inflict them.

My hair was the next issue that was changed drastically. Due to a lack of cleanliness, it went from a short length to elbow-length in a quick span, and I was only able to get it cut a few days after I got set up in Torchwood. I still kept it as best as I could, but a guy with black stringy hair doesn't really have a lot of choices.

The same could be said for the beard I'd kept as a reminder of how tough it had been to keep going in the face of death prior to the Doctor. Firm but intimidating. Guess that shows you how much 5 years of Jack and God knows how long I _thought_ it felt back in my time could change my understanding of life.

Lastly were my eyes, that had changed the most out of all of my appearance in terms of tone. Once a vibrant blue – my dad's – they were now on their way to joining me in death, gray encapsulating them like a cage.

I cupped water and splashed my face repeatedly, focusing on who I was looking at in the mirror, still not believing I had made it this far, even if death had already claimed me 3 times.

 _"So I turned myself to face me, but I've never caught a glimpse. Of how the others must see the faker. I'm much too fast to take that test."_

At last, I got out of the bathroom and silently looked at Jack, as we both recognised how familiar my look now was to him when he'd first found out about his new "path".

We then turned on the TV to see if there'd been any news about the Martian space probe.

"Anything?" Jack asked, as he'd done the same thing with the laptop.

"Nope" I said, still watching the screen. "You?"

"Just give me a second..." Jack muttered, as he finally said "Gotcha!"

"What is it?" I asked, as he gestured me over and pulled out a pair of earphones.

"Thanks to a few contacts in UNIT and a good memory for passwords, I was able to get into their systems and find out what they know about this."

"And?"

"The race that took the probe look something like… this" Jack replied, as we both took a bud and watched the video.

"Fuck" I shuddered as the one we thought was the leader growled loudly.

For some reason, neither one of us could hear the translation, until I brought it up.

"Ok, that's weird" I started. "The Tardis should be able to translate any alien language whenever and wherever we are."

"But with the Doctor out of commission" Jack added, "The Tardis isn't functioning right."

"Is there anything there that might help?" I asked him, while his eyes glanced over the screen.

"As a matter of fact, there is" he slowly grinned, pointing to an audio recording of the events. "Shall we?"

"Might as well" I replied, as we listened to the UNIT side of the affair.

It was a bunch of people in a room discussing the translation of the message. And one voice was _very_ familiar, but we didn't hear it until later in the recording.

"People" a young, male voice said, beginning it, ""You belong to us, to the Sycorax." So, they seem to be called Sycorax, not Martians." "We own you. We now possess your land, your minerals, your precious stones. You _will_ surrender, or they will die. Sycorax strong. Sycorax mighty. Sycorax rock." "As in the modern sense "They rock"".

" _They_ will die" a second, older male voice added, pointing it out. "Not _you_ will die. _They_ will die. Who's _they_?"

"I don't know" the first voice added, "but it is the right personal pronoun. It _is "_ they".

"Send them a reply" a woman's voice ordered, and both Jack and I looked at each other in fear as we recognised the voice:

Harriet Jones. Now, the Prime Minister.

"Tell them this is a day of peace on Planet Earth" she continued, as we tried to listen in. "Tell them "We extend that peace to the Sycorax". "And _then_ , tell them… this planet is armed, and we do not surrender."

"Oh, sweet Jesus" I muttered, as the recording finished. "What the hell is she doing?"

"Trying to do the best thing, I guess" Jack offered up. "I mean, if _you_ were in her shoes, what would _you_ be doing?"

"Fair point" I said, remembering that Harriet was now a different person thanks to our efforts. "But even so, she's dealt with aliens _once_ and thinks that's all you need to know to send them a message."

"I don't like this any more than you do, Marty, but what can we do? We _need_ to be cautious and stay under the radar, at least until this is blown over."

"Alright" I reluctantly replied. "Does it say how far off the ship is?"

"About 5 hours, give or take" Jack said. "Look, if you want to stay here for the night with Rose and everything happening, go ahead. I wasn't planning on any "company" _this_ Christmas, so count yourself lucky."

"You sure?" I asked. "I mean, I'm grateful, but I still feel like you're doing it for _your_ benefit as much as mine."

"Marty, you're now the same as me" Jack said, putting his hands on my shoulders. "I want you to try and come to terms with it as much as _I_ did, even if it takes a literal lifetime to achieve."

"I think I'm starting to feel that already" I replied, lying down on the sofa. "I mean, ever since I woke up both times, I haven't felt as hungry as I usually do. Is that normal?"

"No, Marty, it isn't" Jack said, looking at me truthfully. "You see, when _we_ now die and come back, the second you're completely healed, it's like your body processes have reset in a way. You don't feel hungry immediately, but it'll slowly return to you in time. I found that out the hard way during my early Torchwood days."

"When did it happen?" I inquired.

"A few years after Statten Island. I was sent to negotiate a deal with a trader who'd give me info about a missing person in exchange for me providing him. We'd sat down for a meal to discuss it, and the talk and food went on for what felt like hours.

Then, as we're nearly done, he tries to demand more money for the information and of course, me being me, I say no, pulling my gun out.

He smiles at me, asking me if I enjoyed my meal. And that's when it hit me. Turns out through the whole meal, he's been going Temple of Doom on me with a poison that'll kill me unless I give him what he wants. I didn't notice it affecting me at the start because it had been mixed in so well with the food.

I persevere and take him out before he can do any more damage. But by now, the poison is starting to infect me and I know there probably wasn't an antidote, so I let it take me out. Woke up hours later, about to be nailed in a coffin, and they got me out just in time.

It was after that that I realised about how this affects the body, and I didn't feel as hungry as I did before. Maybe it was just that poison. Who knows?"

"Who knows indeed?" I asked, before I used my coat as a duvet and rested my head on the sofa. "I'm gonna go to sleep here. Wake me up when you've got something."

"Will do. Merry Christmas, Marty" Jack replied, as my eyes shut again, and I managed to get more than one hour of sleep.

* * *

However, I was still woken just as suddenly by Jack grabbing me awake.

"Marty, you need to see this" were his first words to me, as I finally rose from my stupor.

"Why, what's the matter?" I asked, getting up to join Jack at the door.

"A lot of people just started walking about and making their way to the roof, like they were controlled."

"Shit. When did this happen?"

"About 5 minutes ago" Jack replied. "The Sycorax replied to UNIT's message with just a simple hand-wave, like they were using the Force. The same time that happened, they all ended up that way."

"Fuck" I muttered, before both of us went up there to see how many were on the roof.

When we got through the exit door at the top, we saw we hadn't been the only people who'd witnessed this.

Mothers going to their daughters, fathers going to their sons, all of them trying to get them away from the edge to no avail.

Throughout all of this, a blue light continually shone around them and Jack pointed it out.

"That's the same light the Sycorax were using on their new message" he whispered. "Come on. We need to get back to the room."

"Right behind you" I said, as we re-entered the room and Jack showed me the video of the Sycorax leader doing that.

"So, this is what they did as a response to Harriet?" I asked.

"Yeah. Don't know how many are affected, but I'm guessing it's not just London that has this problem."

"You do that, and I'm gonna find Rose" I told him, making for the door. "I have her number, but I want to know in person. Knowing _our_ lifestyle, she's probably going through the same thing as us."

"Good thinking" Jack replied. "I'll phone you with an update, so watch yourself."

"You too, Jack" I said, closing the door behind me.

I raced back over to where Rose's flat, to find almost all of her estate doing the same thing as the others who'd been on the roof.

Looking around for the faces on the rooftops, I hoped that neither Rose or Mickey were among those affected by this.

"ROSE!" I yelled upwards. "MICKEY!"

A few seconds later, I heard Rose faintly calling back to me "Marty? Oh, thank God."

"Thank God is right" I said to myself, as Rose and Mickey ran back down the stairs towards me.

Hugging me, Rose said "You're alright."

"Couldn't get rid of me" I smiled, as all 3 of us looked around in confusion and shock at the others who weren't so lucky.

I then told the pair "We need to go back inside. I know a few things about this that might help."

"Alright" Rose replied, as Mickey and I followed her back to her flat.

I closed the door behind me, and finally realised the damage that the tree and I had caused before. In my earlier anger, I had failed to see what she'd meant by my involvement, but now I saw just how much of it had been my fault.

The glass and the furniture, for the most part were cleaned up as best as they could, but on the walls there were still flecks and spots of my blood that had dried up pretty quickly, and stuck there as reminders about how messy my life now was, and I knew that it was still early days for coming to terms with it.

I wanted to avoid Jackie as much as I could, so I gestured to Rose if I could see the Doctor again.

"Sure. He's still out of it" she replied, "But that's probably the safest place for you right now."

Rose blocked off what had previously been the door-frame, thanks to the tree, only Mickey was with us this time as more company.

I then filled them in on what Jack and I had learned from this, but when Rose asked me what I'd done after the Tardis, I didn't _completely_ lie to her, but I just said that a friend of mine had been staying at a nearby hotel and I'd slept there for the night.

"So, I take it you saw the video of them communicating with Earth?" I asked, to which they nodded in unison.

"Well, my friend and I managed to get a translation of what the message was" I replied, and told them word for word of what the translation meant.

"So, when it says "Surrender or they will die" Rose gulped.

"It's referring to the people on the roof" I answered, pointing up. "No idea how many are like this, but we _all_ know it's not good. I left before my friend could gleam any more details out of it, but they'll get back to me with an update."

It was at that moment, my phone started ringing, and I picked it up instantly.

"Speak of the Devil" I muttered ironically, before I answered.

Knowing my company, I cut off Jack by saying "I'm with Rose and Mickey. Just tell me what you've found" so he wouldn't get angry.

"You're not gonna like it" he replied, as Rose and Mickey looked on in worry.

"How many?" I asked, all of us dreading the answer.

"2 billion people" Jack said, then elaborated. "That's about a third of the global population."

"Oh, my God" I whispered, sitting down on the bed beside the Doctor.

"It gets worse, Marty" Jack replied. "I've seen the types of people affected by this, and I know just how it's being done."

"How?"

"You remember the probe that got picked up?"

"Yeah."

"Well, there were samples on it identifying the human race to others in the universe."

"And?"

"There was water, and seeds, and..."

Jack gulped. "And blood. A Positive. The Sycorax have themselves a vial of A Positive, and they're controlling 2 billion people with it."

"And unless we surrender, they're gonna off them" I finished, in fear.

"Bingo."

"Ok" I replied, as we tried to maintain composure. "Just see if you can find out any way of stopping it. And, also, keep your eyes peeled later. You may find a new trophy to add to your collection."

"Will do. Take care, Marty" Jack replied, before he hung up again.

I then looked up at Rose and Mickey who had been staring in both silence and fear as I had talked to Jack.

"Well?" Mickey asked, breaking the silence. "What did your friend say about this?"

"They said that it's not just London" I replied. "Right now, there are 2 billion people ready to jump because of the Sycorax."

"Oh, God" Rose exclaimed. "How?"

"They're using some form of blood control" I answered. "A Positive to be exact. And through that, they made those people go up to the roof of tall buildings, ready to act as a mass hostage situation."

"And we can't do anything" Rose replied, trying not to cry.

"I'm sorry" I replied. "I really am. If I'd have known this might have happened, I would have done anything to prevent it. But, thanks to these events actually happening, we can't do anything, full stop."

As Rose and Mickey went to the TV to try and gain some reasoning from it, I stayed behind with the Doctor, just to give him some comfort.

"Of all the times when you regenerate, it's when the world needs you the most" I told him, doing my best to contain my anger. "I just hope you realise just how much you mean to Earth and the universe. Without you, we have to rely on ourselves to defend the Earth, and not wait for you to act as negotiator. You've been around _so_ much longer than _we_ have, you _know_ just how capable we are of fucking over external relations. And that is something you need to come to terms with. You won't always be there to save us, so we have to do what we must to survive, even if it tests our limits.

I don't even know if you'll hear it, but I wanted you to know why I chose to go with you on this adventure. It's not just _my_ journey anymore. It's knowing that others will get dragged down with you, no matter how hard you try."

 _"And these children, that you spit on, as they try to change their worlds are immune to your consultations. They're quite aware of what they're going through."_

I finished by getting up and walking to the door-frame, only to find Rose and Jackie, who had been listening in the whole time, the former in tears and sobbed "He's left me, mum" over and over while Jackie tried to comfort her.

This moment didn't last long, though, as a massive shockwave split through the sky and broke all of the glass in most of the windows around us, also giving a massive tremor in the immediate area.

"Oh, Jesus" I said, as Mickey and I raced out to see what had happened.

Rose and Jackie joined us a few seconds later as we all gazed up in fear to witness what new hell the universe was bringing to us next.

This turned out to be the Sycorax's ship, which was shaped not unlike a giant rock, that slowly made its way towards central London and hovered above the Houses of Parliament, before stopping there completely.

All the while the rest of London stared slack-jawed in awe, not realising the gravity of the situation.

I turned to Rose, a panicked look on my face to see what she had to say on it.

However, she was defiant, and instead ran back to the flat, all of us following her in confusion.

"Marty, Mickey, carry him" she ordered, pointing at the Doctor. "Mum, get your stuff, and get some food, we're going."

"Where?" I asked reluctantly. "The only places we can be are either here or the Tardis."

I saw that same defiant look again, and I realised it instantly.

"No" I protested. "We can't."

"It's the safest place on Earth" Rose argued.

"And what are we gonna do in there?" Jackie asked, supporting me.

"Hide" Rose put simply.

"Is that _it_?" Jackie and I said together.

"Mum, Marty. Look in the sky" Rose said, pointing to where the window had previously been. "There's a great big alien invasion, and I don't know what to do, okay? I've traveled with him, and I've seen all that stuff, but when I'm stuck at home, I'm useless. Now, all we can do is run and hide, and I'm sorry. Now, _move_!" she urged us.

"Story of my life" I muttered, as all 3 of us heaved him out of the bed and to a good carrying position.

While we were doing our _own_ heavy lifting, Jackie had planned to bring every thing but the kitchen sink.

"Mum, just leave it" Rose pleaded, as she struggled to take all of her food with us.

"Fuck it" I said, lifting the Doctor over my shoulders like a hunting trophy, leaving Mickey and Rose stunned at how I was able to do it without worry.

"Marty, what are you doing?" demanded Rose.

"Saving you time" I replied, gesturing to the Tardis key in my pocket. "I'll take him in, you two keep a look out for anything."

Lifting the key out of my pocket, Mickey raced forwards to the Tardis and opened the door, while Rose and I followed suit behind him, only I was much faster with the Doctor on my back.

"How-the-hell-are-you-so-fast?" Rose panted behind me, as we approached the Tardis door.

"I used to help rescue people from situations like this when I was younger" I replied, backing into it, remembering how many people I'd saved from being in the line of enemy fire with Jack. "Of course, not _this_ situation, but more small-scale."

We then heard Jackie who was still struggling with the shopping, which shattered with a loud crash.

"Jesus" I murmured, finally setting the Doctor on the Tardis floor as Jackie now entered the Tardis with us.

"No chance either of you can fly this thing?" Mickey asked, who was now looking around the console.

"Not anymore" Rose replied, before I could speak.

"Well, you did it before."

"I know, but it's been wiped from my head, like it's forbidden" Rose argued. "If I try it again, the universe might rip in half."

"Ok, then" Mickey said, turning to me. "What about _you_ , Mr. Alien Expert? _You_ must know something."

"As a matter of fact, yes, I do" I replied. "Unfortunately, it requires the Tardis to be in a more… active state than it is now."

"What does that mean?" Rose and Mickey asked.

"It means that I have a program in the Tardis that allows me, or _would_ allow me, to control it" I explained. "Or, at least I _would_ use it, but thanks to _this_ happening, I _can't_ use it at all. The Doctor needs to be as stable as the Tardis for it to work, and since neither of them are co-operating at the moment, the only thing we _can_ do is wait."

" _That's_ the idea?" Mickey asked, walking over to me. _"Waiting?"_

"It seemed to work _last_ time" I replied, "Besides, I don't see the cavalry showing up to save us any time soon."

"Well, that's as good as it gets, then" Rose finished, as Jackie started the "party" by opening up a flash of tea.

"Here we go" she told us, pouring it out. "Nice cup of tea."

"The solution to everything" Rose and I said sarcastically.

"Oh, stop your moaning. I'll get the rest of the food" Jackie replied, before leaving to pick up what she'd dropped on the ground.

The doors of the Tardis closed behind her, then Mickey tried to liven it up a bit.

"Tea" he smiled, as I looked at him. "It's like we're having a picnic while the world comes to an end. Very British."

His smile soon faded while he walked around to the monitor of the Tardis.

"How does this thing work?" he asked me, noticing how close I was to it. "If it picks up TV, maybe we can see what's going on out there. Maybe we've surrendered."

"I know about it from reading the instructions" I replied, as they both looked at me in confusion. " _Yes_ , there _are_ instructions for this, but they are a _slog_ to get through. _However..._ " I muttered, as Mickey let me access it. "It just requires the right tuning to get her started."

"I thought you said you had a program for this" he replied, while I entered in the codes I had remembered from reading it.

"Yeah, well, I managed to skim through the basics and I kept a few details in there" I said, pointing to my head. "Here we go. That should do it."

I entered in the final commands for the Tardis, and she started giving off a signal, one that I'd never heard before.

"Do you know what that is?" Mickey asked, as I started to look panicked.

"No" I replied, "But I'm betting it's not good. Here, let me get back onto it."

At that moment, the monitor denied me entry for using those commands, and would only operate with the appropriate controller, meaning the Doctor's hand-print.

"Shit" I replied. "Now, she's not letting me erase that until he wakes up."

" _She?"_ Mickey asked. "Who's she?"

"The Tardis" I replied. "Who'd you think I meant?"

"Was it a distress signal?" Rose asked, steering the conversation away.

"No. That would sound different and give out a higher frequency" I told her. "This, I don't know. All we can do is stay here until your mum gets back here with the food."

"Where _is_ she, anyway?" Rose asked, walking to the door. "I'd better give her a hand. It might start raining missiles out there."

"Tell her anything from a tin, that's fine" Mickey replied, as I gave up trying to use the console.

"Tell her yourself" Rose smiled.

"I'm not that brave."

"Oh, I don't know" Rose smiled again, before walking out the door.

Mickey and I grinned like, well, idiots at that comment.

That was quickly changed when we heard Rose scream 10 seconds later and looked at each other in fear.

"Rose!" Mickey yelled, running after her, dropping the tea in front of the Doctor's face.

"Shit" I realised, knowing that I could either leave the Tardis and the Doctor alone, or stay with them, and risk the lives of Mickey and Rose.

In the end, I made my choice, running after the pair and closing the door behind me.

 _"Where's your shame? You've left us up to our necks in it."_

The second I did that, I was instantly grabbed by one of the Sycorax and marched to join the others who were still recovering from the ordeal.

"Alright, I'm going" I grumbled, arms raised above my head in surrender.

As it turned out, it wasn't just the 3 of us who were here.

Harriet Jones was also with us, as well as a man who looked like he was her translator for the Sycorax.

She had grabbed Rose in an embrace, and asked her if the Doctor was with us.

"No" Rose replied. "We're on our own."

I then noticed the one who appeared to be the leader of the Sycorax, who grunted in their native language to us, which was thankfully translated by Harriet's assistant. It sounded like his voice was the first Jack and I had heard on the recording.

"The yellow girl. She has the clever blue box. Therefore, she speaks for your planet."

"But you can't" Harriet and I protested, before I was knocked down by the staff of the one who had grabbed me.

"Someone's gotta be the Doctor" she replied.

"Then, let it be me" I said to Rose, getting up as slowly as I could, trying to make sure I didn't get hit again, or even worse, killed. "I know more about the Doctor than you do. I can handle it. Trust me."

"They'll _kill_ you" Harriet replied, trying to hold me back.

"Yeah?" I muttered, stepping forward. "What _else_ is new?"

"Marty, you _can't_ " Rose begged, as she turned me around to her, fear written all over her face.

"I know" I whispered to her, giving her a big hug. "I can't. But what I _can_ try to do is buy you time. Hopefully, I can keep their leader talking so that the Doctor wakes up. If I can't, I'm sorry."

"So am I" Rose replied, as she told the Sycorax "My companion here speaks for planet Earth instead. Hear him out before passing judgment."

"Good luck" she told me as we broke apart again, and I walked towards the leader.

I hoped the translator would work in reverse as I spoke to the Sycorax.

"I address the Sycorax race according to Convention 15 of the Shadow Proclamation" I started, hoping I was remembering and structuring the speech right. I don't know. The Doctor wasn't exactly sharing with intergalactic laws, rather avoiding them as best he could.

"Do I have your attention?" I asked, hoping for at least some response.

When none came, I went on.

"As the representative of Planet Earth, I demand that you send these people home, release those from your control, and leave this planet for good. If not, there will not be a second chance. Take this one and use it wisely. Now, be gone!"

A few seconds passed, then the leader started laughing, which threw all of us off our guard.

This in turn caused a whole chorus of his fellow race echoing through the rest of the ship.

He was translated again, saying "You are very, very funny. The Shadow Proclamation is nothing to the Sycorax. Do you think yourself clever with your stolen words, and offering of a chance of peace? For your actions against the Sycorax, you must be brought to death."

"Why?" I demanded to know, as two more approached and tried to restrain me, by holding my arms behind my back. "Your empire is filled with warriors, yes? You consider yourselves champions of your species?"

"That is correct" came the reply as the leader leant down towards me. "However, next to us, you are but a wailing child."

"A wailing child, yes" I replied, desperately buying time. "But, for this world, I offer up myself as their champion. My life for 2 billion people, and those you see before you. Do we have a deal?"

The leader then laughed out loud again, prompting the rest to follow him.

"A true warrior, regardless of species, does not make deals with their enemy" the leader replied. "They stand tall in the face of death. If you are the best your planet can offer as a champion, then your world will be gutted, and your people enslaved."

From "then" onwards, all 6 of us pieced it together at once, with the translator being the first to realise.

"Hold on. That's English" he said, surprised.

"That's English" Rose repeated.

I laughed right in the leader's face, even as it turned more enraged. "You're talking English right now."

"I would never dirty my tongue with your primitive bile!" the leader roared, further cementing the point.

"But that's English" Rose argued, asking the others if they could hear it too.

"I speak only Sycoraxic!" the leader yelled out loud.

"Well, let me help you out with that" I smiled, as the leader readied his staff to hit me. "See, if we're hearing English, the blue box is translating it, which means..."

At that moment, all our heads looked around at the doors of the Tardis, which opened to reveal the Doctor smiling in his dressing gown and pajamas, asking only one question:

"Did you miss me?"

As if in response, the leader, who had just been about to kill me, pulled out his whip from his belt, which glowed an electric blue and uncoiled it at the Doctor, who simply grabbed the end of it like it was nothing and yanked it out of the leader's grip.

"You'll take someone's eye out with that" he remarked, stepping towards the rest of us.

"How dare..." the leader managed to growl, lifting his staff to attack him, only to have it broken in 2 pieces by the Doctor wrestling it from his hands.

"You just can't get the staff" the Doctor muttered, before turning back to the Sycorax leader. "Now _you_ just _wait_. I'm _busy_ " he ordered, like a petulant child.

That gruff look was quickly broken by the Doctor facing the rest of us.

"Mickey, hello!" he said, joyously, then looked around him. "And Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North. Blimey, it's like _"This Is Your Life"._ "

" _Tea!"_ he exclaimed, turning back to Rose, Mickey and myself, who, still had my arms behind me, although not as tight as before. I guess seeing your leader's spirit literally be broken will do that to you. It meant the Sycorax weren't going to be as "difficult" to work with, but still just as insane.

" _That's_ all I needed, good cup of tea, a superheated infusion of free radicals and tannin. Just the thing to heal the synapses" he finished, pointing to his head, then turned to Rose and the other 2 of us. "Now… first things first. Be honest. How do I look?"

"You look… different" I understated, with a slight laugh.

"Good different or bad different?"

"Just… different" Rose replied.

"Am I… ginger?"

"No, you're just sort of brown" Rose said, looking up at his hair.

Then, the Doctor went into a somewhat strop, saying "Aww, I wanted to be _ginger._ I've never _been_ ginger. And _you two,_ " he pointed at Rose and myself, "Fat lot of good _you_ were. You gave up on me. Ooh, that's rude. Is that the sort of man I am now? Am I rude? Rude and not ginger?"

"I'm sorry, who is this?" Harriet demanded to know, not grasping who exactly was in front of her.

"I'm the Doctor" he replied.

He's the Doctor" I confirmed, still in my personal hold.

"But what happened to _my_ Doctor? Or is it a title that's just passed on?"

"I'm him. I'm _literally_ him. Same man, new face. _Well,_ new _everything._ "

"But you _can't_ be…" Harriet muttered, trying to reason with him.

"Harriet Jones. We we trapped in Downing Street, and the one thing that scared you wasn't the aliens, wasn't the war, it was the thought of your mother being all alone."

"Oh, my God!" she exclaimed, knowing it was the truth.

"Did you win the election?" he asked with a grin.

"Landslide majority" came her reply, before another familiar voice said " _If_ I might interrupt..."

"Yes, sorry" the Doctor replied, almost forgetting why he was here in the first place. "Hello, big fella."

"Who exactly _are_ you?"

"Well, see, that's the question."

"I _demand_ to know who you are!" the Sycorax leader growled in an even more enraged tone than before.

However, that was nothing compared to the Doctor echoing that same tone with his reply of "I DON'T _KNOW!_ "

"See, that's the thing. I'm the Doctor, but beyond that, I just don't know. I _literally_ do not know who I am. It's all untested. Am I funny? Am I sarcastic? Sexy?"

" _Oh, Jesus"_ Ithought, arms still in the hold of the two Sycorax behind me. I thought I might have been able to get out of the lock, but given what weapons I'd just seen used by the _leader_ I didn't do anything, in case Bill and Ben the Sycorax men were a little "trigger happy".

In the midst of concentrating on my own problem, I'd forgot to pay attention to the Doctor's ramblings, until he pointed to what Jack had figured out earlier and told me about.

"And how am I going to react when I see _this_?" he asked the Sycorax leader, as we all walked over to see it.

Well, I say "walked". _Shunted_ would be a more fitting word. After all, _I_ was the one nearly getting the Hannibal Lecter treatment.

"A great big threatening button. A great big threatening button which must not be pressed under any circumstances, am I right?" he asked with a smile still on his face, like he'd just found a secret Christmas present that no-one had told him about.

"Let me guess, it's some form of control matrix. Hold on, what's feeding it?" the Doctor wondered, as he leant down under the button and accessed a patch which he uncovered to reveal what looked like a Petri dish with red stuff on it. 3 guesses as to what it was.

"What have we got here?" he muttered, dropping a finger in it and pulling it out. "Blood? Yep, Definitely blood, _human_ blood, A Positive, with just a dash of iron."

"But that means… _Blood_ control. _Blood_ control! Oh, I haven't seen blood control for _years_! You're controlling all the A Positives. Which leaves us with a great big, stinking problem. 'Cos, I _really_ don't know who I am. I don't know when to stop. So if I see a great big threatening button, which should never, ever, _ever_ be pressed, then I just want to do _this._ "

And with that, the Doctor slammed his hand down upon the button causing everyone but me and him to recoil in horror.

"You've killed them!" the translator yelled.

"What do you think, big fella?" the Doctor asked the Sycorax leader. "Are they dead?"

"We allow them to live."

" _Allow_?" the Doctor clarified. "You've no choice. That's all blood control is. Cheap bit of voodoo. Scares the pants off you, but that's all it does. It's like hypnosis" he explained. "You can hypnotise someone to walk like a chicken or sing like Elvis, but you can't hypnotise them to _death_. Survival instinct is too strong."

"Blood control was just one form of conquest" retorted the Sycorax leader. "I can summon the Armada and take this world by force."

"Well, _yeah,_ you _could_ " the Doctor reasoned, sitting down in front of us. "You _could_ do that, of _course_ you could. But _why?_ Look at these people. These human beings. Consider their potential. From the day they arrive on the planet, and blinking step into the sun, there is more to see than can ever be seen, more to do than… No, hold on" he realised, knowing what he had just quoted. "Sorry, that's the _Lion King_. But the point still stands. Leave them alone."

"Or what?" the leader asked.

" _Or_ " the Doctor replied, pulling out the sword from one of the two who were holding me, making them lose their grip for a moment.

He then ran back to the Tardis and yelled "I challenge you", which distracted the Sycorax for a few seconds as they laughed out loud while I escaped their grasp.

"Ooh, that struck a chord" he replied, before asking the leader "Am I right that the sanctified rules of combat still apply?"

"You stand as this world's champion?" the leader asked the Doctor in response and drawing his own sword, oblivious to my escape and instead focusing on what he perceived as the main problem.

"Thank you" the Doctor replied, taking off the dressing gown as he held his sword aloft. "I've no idea who I am, but you've just summed me up. So, do you accept my challenge or are you just a cranak pel casackre salvak?" he asked. That insult, surprisingly, was one the Tardis I guess refused to translate. Who'd have thought she'd have a censor on board?

With a hiss, the Sycorax leader replied as both held their swords up by their blades, which, even though it looked cool, was still dangerous, and that was _before_ combat started. I mean, did they _care_ about injuries like that?

Still, _I_ couldn't say anything about handling swords like that. Jack and I had once drunkenly re-enacted the duel from The Princess Bride, with him as Inigo Montoya and myself as Wesley. Long story short, I got too into character and Jack had to feel his hand re-growing back. After that, we both agreed not to do that any more without doing safety procedures first.

Before the contenders fought each other, they knelt down and exchanged a brave gaze.

"For the planet?" the Sycorax leader asked the Doctor.

"For the planet" he confirmed, as they both held their swords, ready to clash.

And clash, they did, for the Sycorax leader got the upper hand on the Doctor very quickly, who'd swung first, but got blocked and parried twice, and knocked down on the floor within 30 seconds.

After he got back up, the Doctor tried to fight back, but got the brunt of his hilt to his stomach.

Knowing he couldn't win indoors, the Doctor ran back through the Sycorax near the Tardis and asked "Want some fresh air?" as we all joined him; the two guards who had taken me had given up at this point.

The two kept striking as best as they could manage, the Sycorax leader still a formidable opponent, until he'd caught the Doctor off guard and tried to blind-side him with a hit to his nose.

Rose tried to step in to help, but I held her back as the Doctor yelled "Stay back! Invalidate the challenge and he wins the planet."

"Trust me" I whispered to her. "He's got this. I'm sure of it."

"I hope so" Rose muttered, as the fighting started to reach its climax.

The Sycorax leader and the Doctor ran at each other, determined to finish this now.

The Doctor did his best to block the leader's blows, but got knocked onto his back by a sneaky move, and with a smile, the leader sliced off his hand like it was made of butter, the sword following with it as they descended towards the streets of London.

" _Hopefully Jack's on the ground, now"_ I thought, as the leader stood up in apparent triumph. _"The only thing is, will he stay long enough for the encore?"_

"You cut my hand off" The Doctor muttered, as the Sycorax leader yelled in joy, returning to his people.

Standing back up and looking the leader straight on, the Doctor said "And now I know what kind of man I am. I'm lucky. 'Cause quite by chance, I'm within the first 15 hours of my regeneration cycle. Which means I've just enough residual cellular energy to do this..."

Like Deadpool, only a whole lot quicker, his hand grew back, until it was exactly the same as the one that had previously been there.

"Witchcraft" the leader guessed.

"Time Lord" came the Doctor's sincere reply.

 _"Strange fascinations, fascinating me. Oh, changes are taking the pace I'm going through."_

As the Sycorax leader stared in disbelief, I took another sword that was from a guard beside us, smiled at Rose, who shared the same look, and yelled "Doctor!" as we tossed it towards him.

"So, I'm still the Doctor, then?" he asked, as he caught it and prepared for round two of his fight like nothing had changed.

"No arguments from us!" I shouted back.

"Wanna know the best bit?" he asked everyone. "This new hand, it's a _fightin'_ hand!"

I still couldn't believe he'd said that last bit in a mock Texan accent, but that was nothing compared to how quickly the Sycorax leader was getting his ass kicked by Doctor 2.0.

The Doctor fought harder and faster than the first fight, but even with a few more parries from the leader against him, he managed to knock him onto his back and almost pin him with his sword.

"I win" the Doctor told him simply, the tip of the blade almost piercing the Sycorax leader's shoulders.

"Then kill me."

"I'll spare your life if you'll take this champion's command. Leave this world and _never_ return. What do you say?"

"Yes" the leader rasped.

"Swear on the blood of your species" the Doctor insisted, again, almost being close to the leader's neck.

"I swear."

"There we are, then. Cheers, big fella" the Doctor happily replied, as he came back to join us, placing his sword down.

"Bravo!" Harriet and Rose congratulated the Doctor, while I clapped and went to retrieve the Doctor's sword.

"Not bad for a man in his jim-jams" the Doctor said as he put back his dressing gown on. "Very Arthur Dent. Now, _there_ was a good man."

He turned back to me and asked "You coming, Marty?"

"Yep" I replied. "Just wanted to get a souvenir."

I knelt down and picked up the Doctor's sword while extending my arm towards the Sycorax leader.

However, what happened next was my own undoing, due to being distracted.

"What was that about not making deals with the enemy?" I asked him, still holding the sword in my other hand. This caused me to take my eyes off my enemy and instead admire how the blade and hilt looked of the great-sword.

"For a race of warriors, your craftsmanship is amazing" I muttered, looking at the amount of detail.

"Then, perhaps you'd like to see a closer look" the leader hissed, as he grabbed my hand to pull himself back up… and promptly stabbed me in the heart with a hidden dagger he'd had in his robes, leaving it still in there.

As I struggled for breath and looked down at the blood that was slowly pooling over John McClane's face, I knew I had to do something before the leader, who had taken back the sword from me, attacked the Doctor.

With what strength I had left, I pulled the dagger out from me, gasping when it finally exited, and threw it at the leader's back, where it stuck in his spine like a bullseye.

The dagger, combined with the Doctor knowing he'd turn on us and throwing a satsuma at a button on the ship, causing the platform beneath the leader to disappear, was enough for him to be sent off towards the ground.

However, he, like me, had enough strength to try to take the other down, and pulled me with him as we fell to the streets, about to join both the Doctor's hand and his sword.

As the Sycorax leader flew by me and I attempted to slow my speed, I knew there wasn't much time left before one or both of us was dead again, so I looked him in the eyes and with sadistic glee in my voice said "Welcome to Earth, motherfucker."

As I said that, I could feel my eyes closing, and I didn't know if I'd be dead before or after I hit the ground. I sighed, and let fate decide what would happen to me...

* * *

As I took in air again, I could feel movement beneath me, and wondered if I was being taken somewhere. That was quickly made easier when a familiar voice said "Welcome back to the world of the living, Marty."

"Jack" I said in relief, knowing I was strapped into his car. "Oh, thank God."

"I wouldn't thank him, or her just yet" Jack smiled, looking back in the mirror. "I don't judge."

"How did you find me?" I asked, looking at the smear that had now covered the majority of my clothes. Weirdly, it didn't feel like a long time when I'd came back this time. It only felt like a few minutes before my heart and skin regrew and I got my breath back.

"It wasn't hard to" Jack began. "After I hung up on you, I tried to find out more information about the Sycorax. But a few minutes later, their spaceship appeared and all communications were cut off. Cell, Internet, you name it. None were operating. So, I went back to the Tardis to see if you guys are doing ok, but by the time I get there, it's only Rose's mom with her shopping and you lot are teleported away, most likely onto the ship.

After that, I got in the car and drove around the Thames, hoping to find what you'd told me about and get there before any _other_ Torchwood operators start work.

10 minutes later, fate drops it right in front of me like a ton of bricks, literally. I'm at this construction site, and I look up and see a hand and a sword coming down fast, so I make as much of a landing zone as I can before they impact it, which they did a few seconds later.

You weren't kidding when you said it was like the Hand of Sauron" he joked, as I looked on in amazement. "However, right then and there, it was like King Arthur, rising from the grave."

"You knew it was the Doctor's, didn't you?" I asked, as we drove slowly through the traffic that had been blocking the roads when the spaceship appeared.

"At first, I didn't know _whose_ it was" Jack replied, "Then, the second glowing energy burst out of it, I knew right away."

"That's something I'll talk about in a bit" I told him. "So, how _did_ you find me?"

"More like _you_ found _me_. A minute after I'd got the hand sorted, I see two people falling to Earth, both in pretty bad shape. I knew it was you because of, well, your hair. And I saw that you'd been about to fall and end up like the other guy, so I made a makeshift safe spot where you wouldn't fall and break anything when you "recovered". The other one, not so much. He's got other Torchwood guys looking after him. I put you in the car along with the equipment and here we are. Your turn" Jack finished, again smiling.

I was about to reply, when we both saw green arcs of energy spill out from buildings around the Thames and become a pentagon, before converging in the central point and firing upwards in a mighty blast, which penetrated the Sycorax ship – still in orbit and about to leave Earth - and caused it to explode, sending debris around the Earth and the inner space.

"No… No.." Jack muttered, stopping the car immediately, before honking the horn in anger. " _Goddamnit!_ "

"What's wrong?" I asked, even though fear was clearly in his eyes as well as the obvious anger thanks to the mirror.

"Torchwood." he said simply.

"Are you…?" I started to ask, before he quickly interjected "No. I'm not. They _told_ me that technology wasn't going to be used, and _this_ is what happens."

"You think they had a reason?" I asked, worriedly.

"Kill or be killed, I'm guessing. Either that, or send a message to the rest of the universe."

"Which is?"

"Don't fuck with the people of Earth" Jack answered, venom pure in his voice, "Or the people of Earth will fuck with you."

After a long pause he said, "This is what you meant earlier when you said they'd leave a big impact."

"I'm sorry" I replied. "But even if I'd gone into specifics, what were the odds they'd actually care? They would have shot it down regardless of us saying anything."

Trying to steer the conversation away, I asked Jack "You still want to hear my side of the story? It might make you feel better."

"As long as it doesn't end in genocide, go for it" Jack replied a few seconds later, restarting the engine as we set off again.

"In reverse" I started, "The "other guy" _was_ , and I _**mean**_ _was_ the Sycorax leader. He stabbed me in the heart, but I threw his dagger right at his back. He fell and tried to take me with him, but thanks to the both of us, there's one less "ugly motherfucker" in the universe." I tried to do my best Arnie impression when describing it, but Jack got the reference.

"You thought he was ugly _before_..." Jack trailed off with a grim smile.

"Let me guess? Gravity disagreed with him?" I asked.

"Gravity, his dagger in his back, and the surface of planet Earth" Jack responded, sharing my dark humour. "Not a good combo."

"Anything else?" he asked.

"Yeah" I replied. "Plenty. For one, when you were describing how the Doctor's hand glowed, that might be because there was still some regeneration energy attached to it, like when you'd see a body respond to an autopsy. When it glowed, that must have been because his new hand drained off the energy from his old one."

"Could be" Jack murmured, before saying "Hold on. Back up. Did you say "regeneration"?"

"Shit" I said. "I shouldn't have said anything."

"Come on." Jack insisted. "What do you mean by it?"

"If I tell you, you have to promise you won't say anything about this to him when he meets you again" I replied, looking up with dread and worry in my eyes.

"I can't promise I'll stay completely quiet about it" Jack said, "But I'll do my best."

"Fair enough" I began. "The whole reason this thing ended up this way was back on the Game Station. After we both woke up, the Doctor absorbed the Time Vortex, and gave as much of it back into the Tardis as he could. Unfortunately, the energy he'd taken was too much for him, and that caused him to regenerate. He caused the Tardis to crash-land here because his new self disagreed with him, and up until about - what, 20 minutes ago? - couldn't get an understanding on who he was. That's why both he and the Tardis were unresponsive. They were both linked together and couldn't work due to one of them failing."

"Wow" Jack could only say in response. "That's actually a good reason to keep me in the dark. Is that why you couldn't let me see him?"

"Yeah. Speaking of the Tardis..." I said.

"What?"

"I sort of told Rose and Mickey about the program" I answered, as Jack was about to give a look of "You what?".

Before he could get angry, I quickly said "The bare details. Only a tiny sliver of what _actually_ is within it. I was hoping to tell them later, after this had blown over, but..."

"But it forced your hand" Jack muttered.

He thought for a moment, then asked "So what happened on the ship, then? _Before_ the "deliveries"?

"Well, we got up to the ship and Rose walked out first, then Mickey then myself. _Well_ , I say "walked" out. I really mean the two of us ran out after her, after we heard her screaming. Mickey dropped his tea, which I'll get back to in a bit.

We were marched in front of the Sycorax and their leader, who – like I said before – was one ugly motherfucker, though I didn't want to say it to his face.

Also among them were Harriet Jones and her assistant, who was also the translator. He was the first one we'd heard on that recording, Jack. The one who'd cracked their message."

"Go on."

"Rose tried to stand up for everyone, but I insisted that she let me speak instead, due to how much I knew about the Doctor. That, and I'd hope to filibuster long enough so the Doctor would wake up."

"And how did _that_ go?" Jack asked, as we still made our way through London.

"I got a laugh out of the audience, if _that_ helps. Did nothing, so they nearly gave me a "splitting" headache" I mimed.

I started laughing. "But then his speech turned into English _without_ a translator from Earth..."

"And the Tardis translated it for you" Jack chuckled.

"Bingo" I said, joining in. "You should have seen the look on his face when the Tardis doors opened and the Doctor's smiling like it's his birthday. Turns out all we had to do was give the Doctor the smell of tea to wake him up.

"After that, the Doctor tried to figure out who he was, got rid of the blood control, and engaged in a sword-fight with the Sycorax leader. Got his ass kicked in the first bit, but… we both know what happened after that. The end" I finished, with a smile.

Jack's face said it all. He was speechless.

"I've never heard a story _that_ great since, honestly I don't _know_ when" he replied, after 30 seconds of silence. "Now I wish I _had_ been there."

"Well, the timelines would disagree with you, but yeah. We both missed some good stuff" I summed up.

At this point, Jack was now approaching Rose's flat, although it was far enough away so I'd be within walking distance.

"I'm leaving you off here and then going back to the Hub" Jack told me, as we came to a stop. "I still want to go back and spend Christmas with the new team, even if it might be brief."

"You're not going any closer?"

"Nah. If I do, the Doctor might get suspicious and get the timelines muddled up" Jack replied with a frown. "Besides, I wanted to give you your present before I forgot."

"What present?" I asked, as Jack leant down towards the passenger seat and pulled out a wrapped box, about 60cm³.

"Go on. Open it" he said, as I took it from him.

I took apart the paper, opened the lid, and within it was… a gun case.

Curiously, I opened it up to find out _why_ this case was here. As it happened, it was a case for a pistol, with indents for both the gun itself and 4 magazines of ammunition, all of which were full.

Then, I picked the gun up to examine it and understood. Jack hadn't gave me just _any_ pistol.

 _This_ was the pistol I'd had on me when I'd died on the Game Station. The one I'd used to take down a lot of Daleks and the one I'd found myself grown attached to since I'd "obtained" it. I could tell because it had a navy stripe running across the barrel on both sides and the sights were a glowing red, which gave it a more ominous presence.

"I-I-I" I stuttered.

"I believe you're meaning "thank you"" Jack replied.

"How?" I began. "How did you find it?"

"It was the one I'd seen you use a lot" Jack answered, "Not to mention, when I tried to _use_ it, I found out about the "safety" features the hard way."

"Sorry" I said, looking down. "I should have told you."

"Don't get upset" Jack laughed. "If anything, it _helped_ whenever I ran into trouble. Let's just say _my_ hands weren't the _only_ ones getting burned."

"I'm amazed you managed to hold on to it all this time" I muttered. "I mean, the cleaning alone must have been a problem."

"I had to wear gloves to do that" came Jack's response. "But yeah. She's saved my ass on a lot of occasions because of your dedication. So, I thought, since we're both the same now and you're gonna be running into danger a lot more, you're gonna need protection. Hence the gift. Merry Christmas."

"Thanks" I said, feeling the grip before putting it back in the case. I was about to get out of the car, before I smelled my clothes by mistake and got a whiff of the stale blood. "Oh, boy. I'm gonna need to change clothes when I get back to the Tardis."

Then, remembering the _first_ time I'd got blood elsewhere, I recalled the tree. "God. I still feel bad for Rose during this. I mean, her home _did_ almost end up like an alien version of Lethal Weapon."

"At least it wasn't Die Hard" Jack pointed out, acknowledging my t-shirt as I got out of the car. "What, with a lot of thieves and such. Still, Lethal Weapon _does_ make sense in a way. You're Riggs and I'm Murtaugh, only with less… tendencies. Guess we _will_ be getting too old for this shit" he laughed, as the two of us finished the quote in an intentional jinx.

"Oh, one last thing" Jack said, looking around in case anyone else was here, before rummaging in the glove box. "You might want to have this as well."

Handing to me a familiar looking wallet, I asked "Psychic paper?"

"Yep. Thought you deserved your own now, given that we've had to… "adapt to our surroundings" for better or worse. And, what better time to do it than now?"

"But I thought you only had one" I said, putting it in my pocket.

"You really think I didn't have multiples of this?" Jack smirked. "5 years later, and you still don't know me all that well."

"Thanks for these" I said to Jack as he prepared to reverse "I'll come see you when I can."

"I don't doubt that in the slightest" Jack grinned, as he put the radio on and waved.

Before we said goodbye, the radio started playing and the music that came out wasn't anything Christmas related.

It was "We'll Meet Again" by Vera Lyn, which made both of us laugh and simultaneously be scared of how accurate it was.

"You ever think God's playing a joke on us?" I asked Jack, who was still reversing.

"Honestly, I hope it's a good one" he called out. "I'll see you when I see you."

"Bye" I replied, before I made my way back to the Tardis and hoped I still had my key from falling that great height.

Thankfully I did, before I opened the door, and the warmth of the Tardis was felt once more.

This time, the Tardis was in a more welcoming mood than before. Hell, the last time I'd talked to her was before I tried to defend my "resting place" so to speak, if you didn't count the decision I'd made in the afterlife.

"Tardis?" I asked the empty space. "You there?"

After a few seconds of silence, she finally replied "Yes, Marty. I'm still here", indicated by the pillar pulsing in sequence with her voice.

"How are you feeling?" I wondered, hoping the regeneration hadn't messed her up.

"I've had better days, but I'm recovering just fine. Wish I could say the same for the Doctor" she mused. "He's spent ages in his wardrobe before finally picking out his clothes."

"Well, I'm sure they'll do the job just fine" I smiled, before she asked me "And how are _you_ feeling?"

"Likewise" I answered. "You weren't lying when you told me this would come back to me in a bad way."

"If you're referring to your new "life-style", this is only the beginning. However, in time, you will find a way to control and eventually overcome it. It may cost those you do not want to lose, but know that you will still be a better person out of it."

"You really believe that?"

"I do. I may have been a burden in the past, but due to this new Doctor's attitude, I will seek to move away from the horrors of the past, and move towards the light of the future, as I'm sure you will do the same.

This universe is still yours to explore, Mr. Smith. The only way you will find your self is to engage in what it has to offer, good and bad. Through that, you will reach your destination and find your peace at the end."

"Thanks" I replied, trying not to cry. "I'm glad I have someone like you to talk to. It makes the adventures more uplifting, no matter the situation."

"I am glad to have helped. However..." the Tardis began.

"What?"

"When you are done here and have enjoyed the festivities, you will need to tell the Doctor about me. About _this_ part of me."

"Are you sure?" I asked, worried. "So soon after he's regenerated?"

"It will be a bit of a process to justify, but I am certain that he will acknowledge how much this means to me, and how heavily you helped to ensure it."

"I hope you're right" I said, unsure. "I just don't want this to have been a big waste of time."

"Me neither. That is why I'm optimistic. Go on, now" the Tardis urged, in a motherly tone. "Get changed and this will be sorted out soon."

"Ok" I replied, smiling now as I ran towards my room. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Marty" the Tardis echoed before her voice disappeared.

Back in my room I changed out of my dirty clothes and put them in a wash basket, then selected my evening wear.

In the end, I went for a navy suit and red jacket with brown shoes, which I thought summed me up pretty well. Elements of the future and past, but still grounded on planet Earth.

After this, I placed my gun case in a drawer in my desk along with the psychic paper and said "Don't worry. You'll be used a lot in the future. I guarantee it" before closing it shut.

Exiting both the bedroom and Tardis, I walked back to Rose's flat and took a deep breath before knocking on the door.

"Who's that at the door?" I heard Jackie ask them through the open window. "If it's carollers, they're getting a kick."

"If they were, they wouldn't have knocked" Rose replied, her voice and footsteps getting louder as they approached me. "I'm just worried about..."

Her speech got cut off as I heard the door open and she saw my face again.

"Hi" I said, hoping she wouldn't faint at seeing me again.

"Marty" she muttered, before she gave me a hug and then tried to recover. "You're back."

 _"Ooh, look out you rock'n rollers."_

"Can't get rid of me" I smiled back, noticing everyone else's faces around her table, namely Jackie's, whose was both a shock and bordering on fear. "Sorry I'm late. You wouldn't _believe_ the day I've had."

"Is that all?" Jackie started to ask, before the Doctor cut her off with a look and exchanged a glance with me as if to say "Well, _you_ took your time."

"If you're angry at me, I'm ok with that" I said, closing the door behind me as Rose walked back to her seat. "Besides, I've dealt with worse. I can handle an angry mother on Christmas. Nothing to worry about here."

"If you say so" Jackie murmured, as she reluctantly pulled up a chair for me. I didn't get as much food as everyone else, but Rose and Mickey, and even the Doctor to an extent felt sorry for me, and gave me what they couldn't eat. This actually turned out to be in my favour as I suddenly realised what Jack had meant by the hunger being affected by us coming back. All of a sudden, my appetite was boosted, and I cleared out the food in hardly any time at all.

The second I'd finished my meals, Rose got distracted by the TV and said "Look. It's Harriet Jones."

As I turned around to see it, it was _indeed_ Harriet, although there was something different about her, judging by the amount of people trying to interview her and ask about her health.

"Look at me" she insisted. "I _look_ fine. I _feel_ fine. I'm fine."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Doctor had stood up and glared at the TV, eyeing up Harriet as if to say "I _told_ you so."

"What did you do?" I asked him, to no avail.

Distracting us a little, Jackie answered the phone and said "It's Bev. She says go outside and look."

"Look at what?" Rose asked, as I turned around, not bothering now with what the Doctor had done.

"I don't know. Just shift" came the urgent reply, as Jackie forced us all out the door.

Outside, the weather had changed from its normal British-ness to a more white environment, which Rose had started to be invested in, until the Doctor and I looked up and noticed what looked like meteors falling to Earth.

Rose even asked that question, until the Doctor replied "No, it's parts of the Sycorax ship breaking up in the atmosphere."

Confirming, I added "It's ash on the ground, not snow. Trust me. I know from experience."

"Plus" the Doctor continued. "This is a brand new planet Earth. No denying the existence of aliens _now._ You all saw it. Everything's _new._ "

"So, what about you?" Rose asked us, looking first at me, then the Doctor. "What are _you_ gonna do?"

"Back to the Tardis" the Doctor said. "Same old life."

"On your own?"

"No" I replied, walking towards the door. "There's still more to see in the universe. Besides, _someone's_ got to keep him in check."

As we both laughed, the Doctor asked Rose "Do you _want_ to come?"

"Yeah."

"Do you _really_?" he asked. "I just thought cause I'd changed."

"No, I do" Rose replied, almost jumping for joy.

The mood was quickly brought down by Mickey asking "You're never gonna stay, are you?"

I thought he meant the Doctor, when really he meant Rose.

"Like Marty said, Mickey. There's so much more to see in the universe. I've got to."

"You're mad, you lot" Jackie said, lighting the mood a bit. "You three, it's like you go _looking_ for trouble."

"Trouble's just the bits in _between_ " the Doctor told her, putting his arm around her and getting her to look up. "It's all out there, Jackie. Everything's brand-new to me, all those planets, creatures and horizons. Haven't _seen_ them yet. Not with _these_ eyes."

With that, he walked back to the Tardis and said out loud "And it is gonna be… _fantastic._ "

He offered his hand to Rose, the same hand that had been cut off, to which she responded "That hand still gives me the creeps."

She took it anyway, while I made my way back into the Tardis, hanging around the console until the Doctor would appear.

"Tardis?" I asked after a few minutes.

"Yes, Marty?" she asked back.

"I think it's time" I said, both of us knowing what I meant. "If I don't tell him now, he's going to find out sooner or later."

"I think it would be best" she replied. "Just remember. I'll be here to help you out."

"Thanks" I said, trying to figure out what I was going to say to the Doctor.

Half an hour later, when I thought I'd finalised my thoughts of how to phrase my explanation, the Doctor walked in alone, his face still carrying a somewhat happy look.

"Marty, what are you still doing here?" he asked. "We missed you at the presents. You wouldn't _guess_ what Rose and Jackie got me."

"Doctor" I said, taking a deep breath. "I haven't been honest with you. I was hoping to say this a bit later than now, but we both knew that it couldn't wait any longer."

"We? Who's we?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"The Tardis" I replied, then said "Tell him. He needs to hear it from you."

"Hello, old friend" the Tardis said to the Doctor for the first time out loud in a soft tone. "It's been a long time coming."

"Wh- _What_?" the Doctor asked in surprise, falling to his knees. "She-She can _speak_?"

"Yep" I replied, looking down. "Ever since Cardiff and the Slitheen."

"And you _knew_ about it _all this time_?" he asked me, directly this time.

"She's the one who told me to do it in the first place" I answered, looking for confirmation.

"It's true" the Tardis continued. "I've been silent all these years, but now I finally have a voice all to my own."

"But _how_?" the Doctor demanded, desperately. "I _threw away_ your instructions!"

"I kept backups in the event of an emergency" the Tardis told him plainly. "I told Marty that it was a request I would like to be carried out by him. I knew if I'd asked you, you'd never do it, due to your numerous adventures. Hence why I needed someone who was willing to do the job regardless of what they were asked to do."

The Doctor was now in shock as a result of this, and neither the Tardis nor myself knew if he would recover from it.

After some time, he slowly regained motion and speech, getting up slowly as he looked at me, wondering what to say.

Finally, he spoke.

"Tell me what happened from the start" he said, gesturing to the seats. "I want to know how this happened."

"You're not mad?" I asked as we both sat down.

"Maybe. I don't know yet. But I'll let you explain yourself first before anything happens."

"Fair enough" I replied, before beginning. "It started when we first saw the Slitheen and their ship landed. When I came back here to find out about it, she made me a deal where in exchange for her showing me the footage, I'd help her get a proper voice."

"It's true" the Tardis added. "After this, I made it one of my missions to help him out by giving my files to him, which I did on the occasion."

"When was this?" the Doctor asked me.

"When I went to help my partner with the case while you and Rose went to see her dad, which _is_ true, by the way" I said, clarifying while the memories were brought back somewhat for the both of us. "They _were_ needing my help with that case, but before that happened and I left the Tardis, she gave me a flash drive of her files which I took with me and showed them, after explaining what they were. We got the case over and done with pretty quickly, but the rest of the time was spent with trying to sort her out.

I then figured out that they could just wait a few months until we were in Cardiff to send it to me because I'd told them where I'd be in advance. That's why when I left _that_ time, I went to collect the flash drive and also a weapon they'd hid for dealing with Margaret. After that, while you and her were "dining", I installed it during Jack's inspection of the extrapolator. I didn't know until _after_ her plan that it had worked.

I spoke with her to hope that it _had_ worked and it _did._ Then, the events of the Game Station happened, and..." I trailed off, as we both knew what occurred. "And I didn't have enough time to spend with her as I'd hoped, or to tell you about it until now. I just hope you can forgive me for not saying anything until now."

The Doctor had stood in silence listening to all of my explanation, until at last he asked "Is that all?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Is that all of the story, or is there anything you're not telling me?"

Sighing, I said "There _is_ one other thing my partner added to the flash drive before they gave me it."

"Which is?"

"A list of commands that they knew I'd probably use if we were cut off from the Tardis and couldn't access the controls directly. It's better if I show you" I said, leading him over to the monitor, which was asleep.

Turning it on to show the hand scanner graphics, along with a scanner to act as the identifier, I said "You need to scan your hand so you have control over the Tardis, or at the very least, the program."

Begrudgingly, the Doctor did so, and we both waited as the Tardis acknowledged him.

"There. Now what?" he asked, as I looked around for the document Jack had provided.

Finally looking in the recycling bin, I opened it up and let the Doctor read what was in it.

Knowing him, he got it read within 30 seconds until he finally said "Ok. Couple of questions."

"Shoot."

"1. Why ANDROS? 2. Who is Jason Myers? And 3, and most importantly, _Why did you have to go_ _ **behind my back**_ _to do this?_ "

"I- _what_?" I asked, taken aback at how _kind_ the Doctor's tone had been in the last question.

"Yep. I would have let you do this _anyway_ " the Doctor replied, pacing back and forth. "I _know_ you think it would have been a _bad_ thing, but the truth is…" he said, looking up and addressing the Tardis directly. "If I wasn't _this_ adventurous, I would have done it in a _heartbeat_."

"Or 2 in your case" I joked, before asking "So, you _really_ don't mind?"

"Oh, I _mind_ , alright. I just wish you hadn't been _in the dark_ about it. You _can_ still do this, but just… _tell_ me next time. I don't want to find out secrets the hard way."

"Alright" I agreed, nodding. "I promise I'll not do anything this insane behind your back again."

"Good we agreed upon something. Now, about my _other_ questions."

"Yes?"

"You going to answer them?"

"Yep" I said, still uneasy about this. "Sorry. I'm just weirded out that you're not _pissed_ , or at the very least _annoyed_ at me."

"I _am_ annoyed, Marty. I think it's just because it's early days for this regeneration. Although, I have a feeling _this_ one will have more issues than most to overcome."

"Like what?"

"Anger. Sadness. Grief. The usual for me."

"But that's not the end of it, is it?" I asked, cautiously.

"Not even close. As long as I have people with me like you and Rose, those may either escalate or go a complete 180. I don't know yet. But when the time comes, we'll all know."

"I'm sorry" I said, frowning.

"Not your fault" the Doctor said, before getting back on track. "Now. _Your_ answers this time. I want to hear them."

"Alright" I replied, before answering "ANDROS is an acronym for the program my partner set up. It stands for Artificial Navigator for a Dimensional Relative Operating System, hence the shortcut. The way I read it was that whenever we got separated from the Tardis and needed help or a way to get back to her, all I had to do was call the Tardis directly, then give the commands and it would carry them out. Never got it to work in practice yet."

"Why not?" The Doctor interrupted.

"I'm looking right at it" I said, pointing at him, to which he responded " _Oi_!"

" _Sorry_ " I replied, "But if your regeneration had went off without a hitch, I would have done it sooner. I mean, I _could_ do it _now_ if you want."

"I'd rather wait until we're done here" the Doctor said. "Which brings me to my _other_ question, being "Who is Jason Myers?""

" _That_ would be my partner" I replied, still not wanting to say Jack's name right there and then. "Or, at the very least, their pseudonym. That's all the information they could tell me so I had someone to report to and work with. I wish there were more, but that's all I know about them."

"I see" the Doctor murmured, seemingly satisfied with what he had heard. I just hoped that was the _end_ of the questions for now.

"So, does this mean you trust me fully now?" I wondered, praying the Doctor didn't go to any specifics.

" _Trust_ , no. _Respect_ on the other hand, _that_ I _do._ I know how hard it is to keep secrets from people, none the least being _me_ and my… _biology_."

"I gathered" I said. "Still, at least you were _protected_ with this change, being in a friend's home, and you weren't in hospital again."

"Don't remind me" the Doctor muttered, as we both knew I meant his 7th to 8th regeneration, _before_ the Time War. "That's a bag of worms in of itself. One of which I don't want reopened, under any circumstances. Is that clear?" The last part, he stared at me in a "keep this between us" way.

"Crystal" I replied, figuring that he didn't want Rose to know about it. "Like I said. I kept this one safe from you. I'll do the same for Rose as well."

"Thank you" The Doctor nodded, before he made his way around the controls, remembering how to operate them, then finally made his way back to the doors.

"You're leaving?" I asked.

"Only for a bit. Tell you what. Once the New Year sets in, we'll go off together. The three of us."

"Ahem" the Tardis coughed, prompting him to change his tune.

" _Four_ of us" he clarified, then turned back to me. "I'll try and tell Rose about the program, but keep the voice between us for now. Who knows _how_ bad it might end up if she knew?"

"Yeah..." I said, tugging at my collar. "That _would_ be a problem. Well, goodnight, I guess."

"Goodnight, Marty" the Doctor replied, as he closed the door behind him and walked away from the both of us.

I waited a few minutes before I began talking to the Tardis, just to make sure the Doctor wasn't still out in the "snow", listening to what I would say next.

"He seemed to take that rather well" I finally said, as the Tardis – who had still been listening in silence until now – replied "I know. It seems a little strange for him to adapt so quickly. Maybe this _wasn't_ the best solution after all."

"Even though he said he would have done it in a heartbeat" I pointed out, sitting down. "I just hope it _is_ something he's comfortable with, and not something that gets on his nerves. Otherwise, why even do this in the first place?"

"It's like we said before, Marty. We are friends, doing each other a favour. I'll continue to help out as best as I can, but if he doesn't like it..."

"He'll get rid of it" I nodded. "I understand."

"Thank you. _Now_ , enough feeling sorry for ourselves. How about you take some time off from worrying about this, and take a well-deserved shower? After all, this _is_ a new beginning for everyone."

"I will" I said, smiling at the offer. "Thanks for everything."

"Do not mention it. Go on and enjoy yourself."

And I did, as soon as I got to the showers that led to the swimming pool. Stripping and letting my body feel the warm water again for the first time in ages, I smiled at how safe I now felt as a result of this escapade.

However, like the Tardis said, it was time for a new beginning.

After doing a few laps in the pool for a while and having another shower, I stood in front of the sinks within the bathroom, looking at my face in the mirror and holding an electric razor I'd found and promptly cleaned before now.

"Well, no time like the present" I said to my reflection, before grabbing what hair I could and cut it down to a short enough size so I'd still be intimidating, but it wouldn't be a massive hindrance to my sight.

I did the same to my beard, so it wasn't as thick, but gave off a "don't fuck with me" look which I intended to keep.

 _"Pretty soon now, you're gonna get older."_

After this, I made my way back to my bedroom, changed into suitable pyjamas and pulled out the gun case that had my pistol in it, along with the psychic paper.

I tested out the paper by thinking of a new identity with a picture to match. The first name that popped into my head was ironically Martin Riggs, only it was my head instead of Mel Gibson's. I held the name in my mind, before I opened up the paper and looked at the writing that had appeared.

It looked as legitimate as it could before I kept switching names while still having the image in the same place at the top right.

Eventually, I finished the testing by thinking of my own name, just to make it complete, before I put it away and swapped it for my pistol.

True to his word, Jack had cleaned it as best as he could without "incidents", but there were still a few flakes of skin left on the grip, which I scratched off to make it feel complete.

After that, I loaded a magazine into it and just held it, making sure the safety was turned on before turning it in a more combat position in case of any invisible threat.

Satisfied, I placed it into my holster which was draped over another chair and was somehow still holding up despite recent events.

"I'll make good use of you soon" I muttered, putting the holster in the same drawer, then finally going back over to the bed, finding both my phone and iPod to charge them, and fell asleep afterwards, ready for the next adventure...

 _"Time may change me, but you can't trace time..."_

 **A/N 2 - Thanks for reading this. I promise I'll get back onto regular updates with this story, but there will be a few changes (no pun intended) from this chapter forwards.**

 **For one, like I said, I'm going to make the song title echo events within the chapter, so it's a bit more lively.**

 **Another thing, and most importantly, the rating on this will change from a T to an M. No romance as such yet, because I don't plan on one at this point in time. _H_ _owever,_ ****since this is literally a new chapter in Marty's life, it will be more violent as he will be put into more action-orientated situations he will have to fight through. So, expect a lot of swearing and probably as much blood throughout. You have been warned.**

 **Aside from that, I'll see you all next time, when we discover that New Earth has more than one secret to be uncovered...**


	2. I've Got You Under My Skin

**Of Time, Space and Beyond Humanity Volume 2**

 _When the deadly world of Doctor Who merges with mine, nothing is safe. To end this nightmare, I am sent back through time to find the one person capable of doing so. But what if my actions cause the very future I am trying to save? Well, as a wise man once said: "The future is whatever you make it! So make it a good one!"_

 **Chapter 2- I've Got You Under My Skin**

 **A/N - Yeah, I said I'd go back to regular updates with this. I'm still _doing_ it. I just am dealing with a bout of warm weather which is both _helping_ me do this, but at the same time _hindering_ it by keeping me up at night.**

 **That said, this chapter is more of a Doctor-lite story and focusing on what happens when you're a one-man army against outnumbering forces.**

 **There _are_ a lot of Easter eggs I've put in this chapter. Some blatant, some subtle. I'll let you find them for yourselves.**

 **One more thing about this chapter, regarding what I said last time about the music. Instead of sprinkling it through like the previous one, this time there are two songs playing, but the main one doesn't show up until much later. Just in case you were wondering.**

 **With all that said, hope you enjoy this chapter.**

The next few days came and went, with time barely passing between them until we set off again towards our next destination.

However, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows during that time.

For one thing, the Doctor, despite his attitude towards me and the Tardis seemed more distant than we'd hoped for. We just thought it was early days, but then again, we weren't so sure.

Mickey was more understanding, as I helped to fill him in on the codes of ANDROS and how they could be activated, which meant that his behaviour with me was more brotherly in a way.

Rose, was - well - Rose. She saw the new Doctor and – I guess – fell in love with him at first sight. I wish I could have been optimistic for her, but ever since Sophie, I'd never done anything romance wise, in case it came back to me in a major way. I mean, it's bad enough to protect someone from harm in general, but when A. There's _aliens_ involved, and B. You're _immortal_ , that tends to outweigh everything.

Still, I did manage to talk to Jack throughout that week, which made conversations interesting to say the least. He filled me in on who the team was who were now working with us, and even got me on the phone a few times to say hi, so we could _prove_ I existed, and I wasn't a figment of Jack's imagination.

"I look forward to meeting you all in person at some point" I told them, then Jack and I laughed at the dark truth behind that statement while we could hear the rest of them sound their confusion.

"You had to be there" I joked, which made the both of us crack up even more, before we parted on good terms.

But like the Doctor said, once the New Year hit, that's when we left _this_ Earth behind, and set our sights on another.

I'd already gotten washed and dressed into my clothes that Rose was kind enough to get me for Christmas, or at the very least Boxing Day. I guess _my_ "gift" to her was just being me.

She'd gave me a brown shirt which I was happy to thank her for after everything that had happened. On top of that, I had a grey trench-coat which made me look and feel like a detective. Maybe I'd been watching too many things with Jack. Who knows? Lastly were a set of grey trousers to match the coat and complete the set.

Unbeknownst to Rose and the Doctor, however, I was now fully prepared. As soon as I heard the Doctor start the Tardis up again, I loaded my pistol and put both it and the holster under the trench-coat, along with a few more magazines which were in my pockets, before taking the psychic paper as well. Jack said it would come in handy. Now would be the time to prove it.

I arrived just in time to see Rose's face beaming at the Doctor while he grinned back at her as they worked the Tardis.

"So, where are we going?" she asked as I joined them and smiled at now all _4_ of us.

"Further than we've ever gone before" was his response, before the Tardis set off.

As the Tardis landed, and all 3 of us "inhabitants" exited her, the Doctor said "We're in the year 5 billion and 23, in the galaxy M87, and _this_..." he said, as Rose and I looked on in awe. "This is New Earth."

Around us, was a sprawling city which, indeed looked like Earth, but reminded me of somewhere familiar. It wasn't until I spotted the flying cars and the massive statue that I laughed at where we were.

"Not bad" the Doctor mused. "Not bad _at all._ "

"I'll never get used to this" Rose said with glee as she jumped. "Different ground beneath my feet. Different sky. And what's that smell?"

"Apple grass" replied the Doctor, as he picked up a few blades for her.

"Apple grass. Oh, I love this. It's beautiful."

"Ahem" I said, interrupting them before they got too carried away.

"Yes. Sorry, Marty" the Doctor said, remembering I was there. "Almost forgot about you."

"It's alright" I replied. "I'm used to disappearing in the background. It's probably how I'm still alive. _Well, that_ and other things, but still..."

" _Anyway_ " the Doctor said, getting us back on track. "We should probably head over there to get a closer look at things."

He pointed to a hill which looked liked it would suit the 3 of us, which we soon made our way over to before he laid down his coat for he and Rose to lie on.

"Aren't _you_ sitting down?" he asked me, as I stayed standing.

"Nah. I'm good" I said, watching the waves. "But thanks for asking."

The Doctor then went into his story about how the "New Earth" got started.

"So, the year 5 billion, the sun expands, the Earth gets roasted."

"That was our first date" Rose looked at him with a smile, whereas I replied "And _my_ first date was with a cold bath and burnt hands", which reminded them of how _my_ experience had gone following that.

"So, anyway, planet gone, all rocks and dust, but the human race lives on, spread out across the stars" the Doctor continued. "Soon as the Earth burns up, _oh_ , they get all _nostalgic_ , big revival movement. They find _this_ place, same _size_ as the Earth, same _air_ , same _orbit_ , lovely. Call goes out, the humans move in."

"What's the city called?" Rose asked, as I answered with a smile.

"New New York."

"Oh, _come_ on."

"It _is_ " the Doctor protested. "It's the city of New, New York. Strictly speaking, it's the 15th New York, since the original, so that makes it New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York."

"Talk about a mouthful" I joked as Rose looked on in awe.

"You're so different" she said to both of us.

"New New Doctor" he smiled, as I looked around at the grass to check out the scenery.

Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw movement in the grass, but shrugged it off like a bad instinct.

That _was_ until it decided to show itself _unintentionally_ via a glint of metal, and I recognised it immediately:

One of Cassandra's spiders was crawling across the grass, trying to stay out of sight. Most likely spying on the three of us.

I ran after it, as the Doctor noticed and called out "Where are you going?"

"I thought I saw something here" I replied, as I inched towards the now vanishing spider. "Won't be long."

"Alright!" the Doctor yelled as I disappeared. "We'll be going to the hospital. Meet you there!"

I didn't have to be blind to know what hospital he meant. Given that we were on New Earth, or New New York in this case, there was only _one_ hospital we were heading to. One where I'd hopefully get some peace.

I quickly cornered the spider inside a log that was tipped over, with no way out except to get through me.

"Come on out" I muttered as I silently drew my pistol. "I promise I won't hurt you." _"_ _Much"_ I thought, as I saw the spider lens and aimed at the legs.

The spider barely had a chance to react as I fired twice, making the gunshots quickly tear through its legs and leaving only the lens as a consolation.

Withdrawing it and looking right in the "eye", I said with a dark smile "Hello, Cassandra. Long time no _see_.

I know you can't reply to me, so I just want you to _listen._ We are not here for _you._ We're here for a _personal_ visit. One that you'll _hopefully_ stay away from. If you _don't_ , well… let's just say bad things will happen. You _have_ been warned. Goodbye."

And with that, I threw it on the ground before stomping on it and leaving the broken pieces behind.

"Well, that's _one_ part done" I said, as I holstered my pistol. "Now, for the "visit" part."

With that, I set off towards the hospital, hoping I'd meet up with the Doctor and Rose there.

* * *

10 minutes later, I managed to find the Doctor and Rose who were now at the main doors of the hospital.

"Well?" The Doctor asked, as I finally arrived in front of them. "What was it?"

"Just a spider" I replied, half-truthing. "I thought it was something else."

"Right, _so_. Before you ran off, I was explaining to Rose that I'd got a message on the psychic paper" the Doctor told me, showing what had been on it. "All we have to do is head to Ward 26 and find this person."

"Seems easy enough" I replied, as we entered the hospital fully to find ourselves surrounded by different species, all coming and going to different parts.

" _Except_ " Rose chuckled. "He's just said he doesn't like hospitals and they give him the creeps. What are the odds of that?"

"I can't imagine" I muttered, as he and I shared a knowing look behind her back.

"It's very smart" Rose said, as we heard the announcements from the PA and saw the amount of cleanliness around us. "Not exactly NHS."

"Oh, you'd be surprised" I chuckled dryly. "Medicine's not what it used to be."

"No little shop" the Doctor sadly mused. "I _like_ the little shop."

"Maybe there's one somewhere else" I offered. "I mean, a hospital _this_ big has to have _some_ type of shop."

"Maybe" the Doctor murmured, before Rose wondered "You'd have thought _this_ far in the future, they'd have cured _everything._ "

"The human race lives on, but so do the viruses" the Doctor explained as a cat nurse passed by Rose and myself. "It's an ongoing war."

"They're cats" Rose said, pointing at the one that had just moved by us.

"Now, don't _stare_ " the Doctor said. "Think what you'd look to them, all _pink_ and _yellow_. _That's_ where I'd put the shop!" he exclaimed, pointing at a corner. "Right there."

He then noticed an open lift and walked right into it, saying "Ward 26, thanks" with no problem at all.

"It's alright" Rose said, when the doors had closed. "There's another lift."

"You'd better take this one" I told her. "I'll be fine with the stairs."

"You sure?" Rose asked me, as the doors opened to her.

"Yeah" I replied. "Ward 26, and watch out for the disinfectant."

"The what?" came her muffled question as the doors closed.

"You'll find out" I replied, with a smirk.

Knowing what would have happened if _I'd_ been in there instead of Rose, or the two of us together, I counted myself lucky, and made my way towards a staircase to see if I could beat the Doctor.

When I got there, however, there was a sign posted on the door leading to them:

" **Maintenance** **i** **n progress. Unsafe for work.** "

" _Great"_ I thought, looking around. " _Now what?"_

Just then, I saw a utility lift that was still in use by the staff and pulled out the psychic paper to help prove my thrift.

Thankfully, there wasn't anything _else_ I had to make my cover work. I'd watched that many things with Jack and worked around him so long that I could mimic his accent without worry, which came in handy on a few occasions in America. Now, it was literally much closer to home for him.

"Hi, fellas" I said to the 4 men – most likely human, due to how scraggy they were, even _with_ the medical clothes – who were still in the lift, showing them the paper before I put it back in my pocket. "John Dorian, _World Health Organisation_. You mind if I take a ride with you guys? It's just the stairs are out of order, and I don't wanna wait for another elevator to come."

"WHO?" one asked in an English accent, as all of them raised their eyebrows. "I didn't know anyone was coming. There aren't any _problems_ , are there?"

"No, no" I assured them. "Just wanted to visit a… friend of mine here. Heard they might be on their last legs, but I got to know in person."

"I understand" the same person said. "What floor?"

"Ward 26" I said, as they moved aside and let me walk in.

The lift doors closed, leaving a blurry mirror separating us from the outside world as the inhabitants were now all in view, with me at the front sandwiched inbetween 2 of them, while the other 2 were standing behind them.

Suddenly, the lift began to _descend_ , not _ascend_ like I'd hoped.

"There something wrong here?" I asked, looking around.

"This one's just a little jumpy" a second man answered. "It has to go down before it goes back up."

"Alright" I muttered, not believing them.

Thankfully my pistol was still not holstered all the way, so if things went wrong here, I'd be able to sort it out fast.

That "wrong" came sooner than I expected.

I was still waiting for the lift to get under control, when I spotted the one who had asked me about the floor hold a hand up to his head, and – even though he whispered it, I could still read his lips which – said "understood", while looking straight at me in the mirror.

" _So much for the easy way"_ I thought, as I hurried to find a way out of this.

In the end, I crossed my arms to cover up my pistol being reached for and asked "So, from one medic to another, you guys must have seen a lot come through here, right? You know, stabbings, disease, bullet wounds. _That_ sort of thing."

"No bullets I'm afraid" one replied from behind me. "That's not been our problem."

"Really?" I asked, smirking as my hand found my pistol grip. "Huh. Must be my lucky day, then."

In a split second, my calm facade left my face and I emptied 4 rounds straight into the torso of the guy to the left of me, where he dropped like a sack of spuds, before the other ones tried to have a go.

The instant the 1st one went down, I could feel the tip of something begin to stick into my back through the trench-coat and I knew it was a syringe.

Before it could do anything to me, I quickly spun around and disarmed it, before plunging it straight into the assailant's heart, where he too thudded to the floor.

The third one who attacked me tried to push me against the wall, which I used my feet to bounce back against to flip our positions, then shot him in the foot to let him go.

Once he did, I turned and shot him 3 times in the chest, before finishing him off with a bullet in the skull.

Finally, the last guy – who was now in the "safe" corner – was scared out of his wits, and he was the same one I'd talked to the most about this, _and_ the same one I'd seen in the mirror, only now he was covered in as much blood as _I_ was, being so close to the action.

"Don't even _think_ about it" I told him coldly in my original accent, sticking the pistol in his chest as he attempted to reach for the syringe. "It's not worth it."

"H-h-how did you m-m-manage to find out?" he whimpered. "We've never had this problem before."

"For starters" I told him, reaching to his ear with my free hand "I've been working with that _friend_ I mentioned for a _long_ time, so _believe_ me when I say..."

Yanking it out and holding it for both of us to see, I said "I know an earpiece when I see one."

"Who were you talking to?" I demanded, looking him dead in the eyes, then changed the question. "I know you received an order. What was it?"

"The-The order was to take you with us" the man said, now crying. "The syringe was full of an anaesthetic capable of taking someone down without resistance. I-I didn't know this would happen."

"Alright" I said trying to remain calm after that, as the lift – still not functioning properly – continued down at a snail's pace. "Now. The _other_ question. _Who were you talking to_?"

As I asked that, I stuck the pistol right at his stomach, digging it deeper until the response was "They-they call him Brother McDowell. He runs the surgery down here."

"What _kind_ of surgery?" I asked him, teeth now being ground.

"All I know is that it's to do with extensive practices" wept the man. "I swear."

"Anything _else_ I should know?" I growled.

"Only that he's protected, and you'd be a fool to go against him alone."

"I've dealt with worse" I said, as I stood up, lifting the gun.

"Does that mean you'll let me go?" the man cried out, before he saw the gaze in my eyes.

"No" I said bluntly, pointing it at his head. "When it comes to people like you, I don't leave witnesses."

"I can help you out" he pleaded, falling to his knees. " _Please_!"

"You already _have_ " I replied, as I shot him in the head and let his body join the others.

Sadly, the pile-up did nothing to halt or slow the lift's progress as the numbers slowly worked their way down, from the ground floor to sub-basement levels before "we" arrived at the end.

However, it gave me time to raid the bodies of my would-be attackers and find some interesting loot.

"Should have guessed" I muttered, as I pulled off one of their badges which was revealed to be as fake as the ID I'd used on them. "Now, let's see what _else_ is on them."

A few rummages later, I was able to find more earpieces on them as well as more syringes, all still full of whatever the hell they were going to use on me.

"Thanks, guys" I said, as I wiped off an earpiece before putting it in my ear. "You've been a big help."

As the lift came to its place and the doors opened, I picked up a few of the syringes and stuck them in my pockets, covering them up so that I didn't accidentally inject myself with them.

I reloaded my gun and tapped the earpiece, hoping there was at least some signal down here. Unfortunately, the shots inside the lift had been so loud up close, the receiver was partially deaf, but still acted as a tracker for the communications, beeping with every step I took.

The light of the lift immediately contrasted the severe dark I was looking at in front of me, so I quickly searched for a light-switch.

Finding one right beside the lift and flicking it on, I was both amazed and horrified at what I was seeing.

A white hallway stood elongated, what must have been 50 feet, stretching all the way down to what looked like a fire escape. Knowing _this_ place, I doubted it even _had_ a fire escape.

I slowly progressed down this singular tunnel with my gun at the ready, passing by doors with numbers on the side and underneath a small window each one of them had; probably to check in on their "patients".

All of them looked closed or locked, except for one which was ajar, and looked like it had already been in use, and hadn't been cleaned up yet.

Cautiously, I opened the door, hoping it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

I was wrong. It was worse. _Much_ worse.

It was a hospital bed, alright, with surgical equipment galore around it. A small part of me was sad, as I was reminded of the Odin where I'd got "checked up" by Sophie and her team. Sure, _that_ one was great, but I still felt sadness whenever I saw something like that.

What made me scared wasn't the bed, though. It was the fact that there was blood on it, and when I felt the bed to see, it was still warm and fresh.

" _Someone's still here"_ I thought at once, turning my head to hear if there was anyone approaching me.

5 seconds later, I heard a set of footsteps along with a cart of some sort approaching the door and I quickly hid in the shadows behind the doorframe in case they came in with me, holstering my weapon before I chose another one.

Judging by their breathing and walking pace, it was a male, early 50s. Luckily, they didn't smell of drink or smoke, which would have put me off slightly.

I didn't have to wait long, though, as they did _indeed_ join me, though not in the way they were expecting.

As the person noticed the door was still open, they stopped walking and moved inside, looking only ahead of them towards the foot of the bed.

When they closed the door to turn on the lights and clean up, _that_ was when I made my move.

Taking a syringe out of my pocket and lifting the cap, I plunged it into their neck deep from behind, while holding him down with my free arm.

"Sweet dreams" I muttered when they finally went to sleep.

Then, knowing they'd get suspicious if it was just his cart outside, I moved it into the room, then shut the door tight but silently, leaving both in there.

"That's the clean-up crew sorted" I murmured as I kept going through the rest of the hall. "Now, to find this bastard."

Surprisingly, I didn't have to look far. As I approached the end of the hall, I saw another open door, _this_ time, with a sign outside it like a clinic, and on it, the name I'd wanted:

" **Brother McDowell. Emergency surgery expertise."**

" _The Doctor will see you now"_ I thought, nearing the door and noticing the glow from within.

Pointing my gun and arriving at the frame, I was treated to a sight that – to this day – I wish I could have unseen.

A man, who looked like he was late 30s was lying flat out on an operating table, guts splayed open, completely unconscious.

 _That_ wasn't the _end_ of it. The son of a bitch _himself_ was "performing" the procedure:

Brother McDowell. A "man" you could say, although that was a _very_ fucking loose word for his behaviour, _and_ for what he looked like.

Like the nurse we had seen earlier, he was a cat, only he wasn't as "pretty" as the other one.

What gave it away was the massive slice across his left eye, effectively blinding him there, combined with the 4 deep gashes on his right cheek, making his whiskers seem asymmetric, as well as the rest of his face.

What made the horrific cherry on top was the way his "work" was being carried out.

He was taking the man's organs out one at a time and feeling them like he was Horus weighing a soul, all with an equally scary smile on his face, like he was _enjoying_ what he was putting this person through.

I felt sick to the stomach just _watching_ him, and would have threw up if I hadn't remembered that I'd cut down on food for the New Year. Guess the resolutions _were_ in effect.

Steeling myself, I walked into full view and pointed my gun at the "Doctor's" head as he slowly turned around to notice me.

"Ah. _Hello_ there" he said in – _surprisingly –_ a _soft_ Scottish accent without a care in the world. " _Do_ come in. We're just getting to the _good_ part of the show."

I thought I knew his tone and voice from somewhere, but I couldn't piece it together.

"You must be Brother McDowell" I said, trying not to shudder as I kept my gun trained on him. "I heard one of your "assistants" mention you."

"Ah, yes. _Those_ people" he muttered, never taking his eyes nor his _paws_ off his "victim". "Shame what happened to them. Still, that's what happens when you mess with someone holding _psychic paper and a loaded weapon._ "

As I raised my eyebrows in surprise and fear, he continued "Yes, I _know_ about that sort of thing. The lifts here are fitted with security cameras in the event of an emergency, which I was able to monitor in case of any… _undesirables_ , shall we say?

I _must_ say, your skills are unlike _anything_ I've ever seen. The way you were able to take them out with a lack of _emotion_ , each one more _brutal_ than the next. I must _ask_ you… How did it _feel_?"

At this point, the "examination" was over, and the "patient" was gone, the Doctor now having his gloves removed and putting down the organs.

"I killed them all to protect myself" I replied furiously. "If I hadn't, _I'd_ now be on that table. _Now_ , since you're finished _here_ , you can answer my questions."

"Ask away" came McDowell's unchanging tone. "I'm an open book."

"Books still have their endings" I replied, pointing at a nearby stool with my gun. " _Sit_ ".

As he did, I asked "What kind of fucking practice do you run here, aside from an _illegal_ one?"

"I'd prefer if you took less… harmful language here" he said, retaining that ominous smile. "We don't want the dead to listen in. Who knows _what_ they might say?"

"Answer the question!" I ordered, aiming at his knee. "Or would you prefer doing this with a limp?"

"Fine. If you must know, my practice seeks to help those who are in less… fortunate positions and give them a better life."

"And by that you mean organ harvesting" I replied, pointing with my free hand over to the carcass. " _Illegal_ organ harvesting."

"Is there any _other_ way?" McDowell asked, which threw me off for a second, before he explained. "In this world, disease is easily cured by the Sisters within a matter of hours, depending on the issue. What _I_ specialise is something they have _no_ amount of understanding in: The ability to make the body _more_ than what it is capable of."

"The withdrawal of organs is only one part of the service. _Implanting_ them is something else entirely. I can make someone much stronger than any land animal that roams the wild, or faster than any aquatic life and have them _tear_ through open waters without a care in the world. All it takes are a few… volunteers and I can do the job I was set out on this Earth to do."

"Hence the title of "Brother" McDowell" I replied, sickened. "So, what? You see yourself as God's messenger, hoping to show his divine beauty?"

" _No_. I seek to _challenge_ God's beauty, by _creating my own_!" McDowell exclaimed, both angry and joyous at once, and it was _that_ sentence that made it click of where I'd heard his voice before.

The tone he carried out was so peaceful and _ironically_ optimistic, it was like hearing Renton from Trainspotting describing his feelings to both his friends and the audience. But once that rage seeped through, then _Begbie_ was unveiled; a man who wanted nothing more than to watch the world burn around him while he tossed the lit match behind on the gasoline.

I could have killed him as soon as I walked in, but I wanted to know the _mind_ behind the madness, and to get him to monologue. Villains _always_ want their monologues.

That _was_ until he looked over at me and asked "So, knowing everything now, what do you say? Will you seek to join me in teaching this world a lesson, or would you rather end up like the rabble you saw prior?

"One more question" I said, guessing that he'd kill me regardless of what choice I made. "How have you managed to get away with this? _Me_ aside, you couldn't have been this quiet without problems."

"When I started out, _yes_ , there _were_ issues to overcome" McDowell replied, fidgeting in his chair. "But once a few… influential people arrived here, I couldn't wait any longer. Thanks to some loopholes, I can get away scot-free with the promise that I have made the right people happy, myself included."

"I've heard enough" I said. "You may have got _those_ people, but now you're about to face judgement."

"I just _told_ you, _I have ways out of this_ " came the now even more sinister grin from his mouth. "The legal system will let me carry out my work as if _nothing had happened._ "

"I wasn't talking about the legal system" I replied, as I pointed the gun at his head. "I meant _divine intervention_."

"Any last words?" I asked him, to which he started cackling hysterically.

"What's so funny?" came my second question.

"Funny what I said about the _dead_ listening in" McDowell laughed, getting closer to the gun, and almost pressing the barrel against his skull. "You _never_ know _what_ they might say. Or in _your_ case, _hear._ "

The second he finished that sentence, he whistled sharply once, and the earpiece that had been in my ear let out a massive scream directly into it, disorienting me as I struggled to take it out.

At the same time, McDowell _leapt_ into action and disarmed me like I was a fly, knocking the gun on the floor and leaving me writhing in pain.

As my hearing continued to worsen, I felt a needle injected into my arm, filling me with the anesthetic the assistant mentioned earlier.

While my sight and hearing were now receding by the second, the last sentence I heard from Brother McDowell was "Pity. I thought you would have been smarter than that."

After that, the darkness reclaimed me in her embrace.

* * *

I woke up gasping again, and I knew I died on the operating table, because my organs had been regrown as I came back. Every single one of them.

The first things I felt were the gown that you'd see on corpses – which was either ironic or fitting, given my situation – and the cold metal of a morgue drawer.

The light didn't help much either, given that there was a tiny sliver of it visible when I opened my eyes.

I thought about trying to push the drawer open from the inside and escape, when my plan was actually performed by a male worker, who I heard approaching and touch the handle.

They must have heard me breathing and come to investigate.

As the door opened, I pretended to still be dead until they pulled me out halfway and noticed my arms were now in an "X" over my chest.

The moment I felt air on my head and they leaned in to listen for a heartbeat, I opened my eyes and began to strike, putting both arms upward which knocked the air out of their lungs, until I flipped my legs over the table and properly got off the drawer, elbowing them in the process.

While they were attempting to get their breath back, I put my right arm around his neck and began to choke him out, while blocking his blows with the left so they didn't wind me as well.

"Where-is-McDowell?" I asked as they fell to the floor.

"In-in his lab" he choked, pointing to the left. "Down the hall."

"How many of you are there?" I demanded, while their life drained. " _Tell_ me!"

"20" came the reply, before whispering "Good luck" in their last moments.

I took a while to stand back up and examine the morgue I was in.

It looked as clean as could be, only… _well…_ it was _this_ place.

I hadn't been the only recent person here, it seemed. 5 other drawers were along the same wall, all closed. I just hoped they weren't occupied.

Unfortunately, they _were_ , as I opened each one of them in sequence and slid them towards me.

3 males and 2 females, all either mid to late 20s, or late 30s. It was hard to tell by sight alone, given how most of them appeared younger than their years. None of us exactly had "tags" to identify.

Like what I had seen before with the "good" Doctor, I felt sick to my stomach, and wanted to leave this place behind. Then, I realised he'd only keep doing this as long as he thought he was untouchable.

"Guess it's up to _me_ , then" I muttered, as I noticed the clothes that were still on a nearby table. I chuckled at how so "in the zone" McDowell had been, he'd just given everything to the morgue and let them lay the clothes out, including mine.

Sadly, it wasn't anything else that could help me. No psychic paper. No gun. Knowing a sick fuck like him, he would have kept them as trophies of his victims. Well. Guess there were _three_ things I was after now.

Although, at least he'd left my iPod in there with the earphones. It meant I wouldn't have to be deafened completely again. Guess he only wanted the "essentials".

Quickly getting dressed back into my clothes, I was about to leave the morgue with a few knives they were using to cut up the bodies, when I heard the earpiece the worker was using squawk into life.

Knowing what happened _last_ time, I didn't insert it into my ear. I just held it in my hand and got ready to drop it at a second's notice.

"Stanley, come in" came an all too familiar voice on the other end. "I just wanted to know how things are being handled on your end."

Smiling, I answered "Sorry, Brother. Stanley's looking a little _dead_ at the moment _._ But don't _worry_ " I said, looking around at the drawers. "He's in _good_ company."

"Mr. Dorian, or _whatever_ your name is" the Doctor's voice replied. "I thought I'd gotten rid of you."

"You thought _wrong_ , asshole" I said. "I believe you _have_ some things of mine. I'm coming to take them _back_."

"And how _exactly_ are you going to do that without any weapons?" he sneered.

"I'm resourceful" I smirked. "You saw a taste of my work in the lift. You want to see me _without_ emotion? Come face me in person."

"I'd rather not, I'm afraid. I have my hands rather full, but I have some friends who would be _glad_ to say hello."

"Fine by _me_ " I said. "Just know this: When I get through all your men, and I _will_ , I'm going to take one of these knives I'm carrying and find out which one of us _truly_ has 9 lives."

"Is that a threat?"

"No" I replied with a dark smile. "Just a promise. One I _aim_ to keep. See you soon, Doc."

Before he could activate the scream again, I dropped the earpiece onto the floor, then kicked it over to another corner.

"And now for the _fun_ part" I murmured, as I heard footsteps approaching the morgue door. _Multiple_ footsteps by the sound of it. Seems he really _did_ bring the party to me.

I got behind the door-frame like the cleaner earlier and pulled out the sharpest knife that had been on the table.

I heard one of the men issue an order for them to spread out and find me, which they carried out a few seconds later.

As the first one came through the door, I stabbed the knife right through where his torso was, and he cried out in pain, until I withdrew it and he sunk, hoping it was over. That was until I heard his breathing, and stabbed him through the head as well. _Then_ it was over for him.

With that first guy done, I quickly dragged his body in with me, closed the door and locked it before anyone else could come in, then made a barricade with one of the desks and chairs, which blocked the door for a while.

While this was happening, I noticed that the man had dropped what looked like a futuristic handgun, akin to the one used by Robocop, although this was suppressed, most likely for a "silent cause".

"Thank you" I said, looting his corpse to find more ammunition. "You've been a big help."

Within his pockets, there were at least 4 more magazines of ammo, which I put in my belt for ease of access.

"Come on, you bastards" I said, listening out for them. "Where are you?"

10 seconds later, I found out, via a broken window to the left of me, followed by a shout of "Grenade!"

I dove right towards the place it had been thrown from, hoping they'd think I was still in the grenade's radius and thus think I was dead again, or at the minimum incapacitated.

When the grenade exploded and released a smoke bomb, _then_ the team of 5 advanced, climbing over where I was hidden, with no-one noticing me.

The instant the last man entered that way, I timed it so I exited without anyone noticing.

"Anyone got a visual?" I heard one call out.

"Negative. Keep searching" came the reply, as they walked through the smoke.

When the smoke cleared, it was both a positive and a negative for all of us. We could see each other, and that put us in the line of fire.

However, even though they were all together and aimed at me, I smiled, even as I ducked back down.

"You guys know what deafening silence is?" I asked, putting my earphones in my ears. "If not, you're _about_ to."

And like McDowell before me, I whistled once sharply, which in turn set off the earpiece I'd kicked over and caused the others attached to the men to act in a chain reaction, culminating in a cacophony of chaos.

This gave me the chance I needed to pick them off easily with the pistol, delivering headshot after headshot until all of them were dead.

When the last one collapsed and the sound was no longer blaring, I slowly took my earphones out and looked at the mess that had been made.

" _Hear_ today, gone tomorrow" I quipped, vaulting back over and collecting the ammo.

6 down, 14 to go.

The next set of guys came after me a few minutes later, when I moved to another room and tried to hunker down.

Just as before, they were in a group of 5, only they weren't as tight as the previous one, which gave me ample time to pick them off.

I took out each one individually with headshots to the back of the head, then dragged each one back into the same room so they wouldn't be alone.

Now there were 9 left, and _now_ they were getting anxious.

"We can still do this" one of them calmly told his group, before I lured them into an "operating" room where I knifed each one one in quick succession and even got them to shoot each other by "accident".

4 left. I was starting to _enjoy_ this.

"Where are you?" came the constant question from the panicked workers. "If you come out now, we won't kill you."

"That's what the _last_ group said" I replied from the shadows as I approached them. "And the group before _them_. Funny how _no-one_ seems to _live up_ to that promise."

As they turned around too late, I stabbed them in their heads through the neck at the same time, thanks to making use of the knives up my sleeves.

The last two guys… _well._ That was something I didn't deal with until I had nearly _found_ Brother McDowell.

I was still searching through the hall, listening out for any sign of the stragglers when I heard an unfamiliar voice in the distance – this time a female- ask "Where are we going?"

"You'll see" another worker replied in the same position, as I realised that while they'd been dealing with _me,_ they'd _also_ found _another_ person for the Doctor to examine.

Instantly, I followed the voices right back in front of the lift I'd came down in the _first place_ , where the doors were about to open.

I aimed my gun up to head height and waited, until the loud "Ding!" of the lift was heard, then quickly fired when I saw the worker's faces.

Like DiCaprio in The Departed (fitting), they didn't even see the bullets coming. All they knew was one second they were alive, and the next they weren't.

However, I also forgot about the "company" they had in the lift, who _screamed_ when she saw the bodies, and not to mention me holding a gun.

"Shhh" I pleaded to the girl – wearing what looked like summer clothes - who I'd saved and was now in hysterics. "I can explain."

"Help!" she called out, in what sounded like a New York accent. I couldn't tell through the tears. "Someone help me!"

"I _am_ helping you" I said, holstering the gun. "You need to leave _now._ This place isn't safe for anyone."

"How-How do I know that's true?" the girl asked, and I could finally see her face. She was a brunette with frizzy hair, with pale blue eyes that were now weeping and a mouth that had looked like it had been through hell. Pot calling the kettle black, I know.

Judging by her face _and_ body, she looked either my age (of 25), or slightly younger, given how much she looked like she could turn heads.

"For all _I_ know, you could _be_ one of these guys!" she exclaimed, and I hoped that no-one would hear her down the hallway.

"Do I _look_ like I work here?" I asked her angrily, gesturing to my bloody shirt and coat. "I've just spent about 20 _minutes_ dealing with these assholes, and I'm trying to get _out._ Why would I _ever_ want to work here?"

"How did you end up here, then?" the girl asked, after a few seconds and trying not to throw up. "Did the elevator not work or…?"

"I was trying to visit a friend here but my 2 friends that I came with took both the normal lifts and the stairs were under repair" I replied, pointing behind her. "Tried to go up in _that_ one, _but_..."

"We both ended up down here" came the girl's reply. "I just came with those guys because they said I was legible for a practice here. Still don't know what it was for, but..."

" _Trust_ me" I replied, gritting my teeth. "You're better off _not_ knowing."

"So, who _are_ you, then?" the girl asked me as she slowly stepped out of the lift and over the bodies. "What's your story?"

"My name's Marty" I replied. "Marty Smith. What about you?"

"Grace" she replied. "Grace MacCready."

"I bet the irony's lost on you _here_ " I chuckled. " _Grace_ _ **and**_ _MacCready._ No _wonder_ we're dealing with something fucked up beyond understanding."

"Am I missing something?" Grace asked me as we progressed. "Why is that ironic?"

"Grace for the amount of _violence_ that's been going on here" I said, gesturing to the blood that had remained after the brutal fights in the rooms, "And MacCready because you remind me of Kurt Russell in _The Thing_. Boy, _that's_ a hell of a movie in of itself."

Grace was about to reply, when we heard a loud siren blasting out, followed by an announcement saying _"This building is under quarantine. Repeat. This building is under quarantine. No-one may leave the premises. Repeat. No-one may leave the premises."_

"Oh, God" I said, as we heard doors begin to shut ahead of us. " _This_ isn't good."

"Why?"

"Because it means my friends have been busy" I replied. "Well, _one_ of them, anyway. We have to get back to the lift."

"But doesn't quarantine mean it's not working?"

"Not moving" I replied. "Different thing. But there's a hatch in the roof. If we can climb on top of it, we can wait until they're back online, then just drop down through it and it'll bring us back up."

"You sure about this?" Grace wondered, as I dragged the bodies out from the lift.

"Not really, no" I said, "But it's better than nothing."

"Fine" Grace replied, backing back into it. "You want to give me a boost up?"

"Sure" I said, bending my knees and standing under the hatch. "Ladies first."

As Grace was lifted up by me, out of the corner of my eye I saw a door at the end slowly open, then shut, as if to see if the coast was clear.

When she was out of sight, she put down her hand. "Your turn."

"No" I said, taking her hand and holding it tight. "Not yet. I have some unfinished business to take care of."

"What?" she demanded.

"Please" I replied, now holding her hand in both of mine. "I promise I'll be back soon. Just wait for me here."

"But what if someone _is_ coming?"

"Here's a gun" I said, lifting out one of the soldier's pistols and putting it in her hand. "If you hear someone coming who's not me, just open the hatch, and don't stop firing until they're dead."

"If you say so" came the unsure reply.

Grace closed the hatch on the lift, and then it was just me.

Well, me and the infected that is, who had burst through one of the doors at the end of the hall and were now starting to fill it up, blocking my route to getting revenge on this bastard.

I spotted a fireaxe in a nearby safety box and immediately grinned like the Cheshire cat.

"Time to return those videotapes" I laughed, as I broke the glass and lifted it out.

Selecting the track and knowing that this omelette couldn't be made without breaking the eggs in front of me, I prepared myself for what was about to happen to all of these people.

Hitting play as I put my earphones in, I began to swing as Huey Lewis and the News sang out loud into my ears:

" _I used to be a renegade_

 _I used to fool around._

 _But I couldn't take the punishment,_

 _and had to settle down._

 _Now I'm playing it real strict,_

 _and yes, I cut my hair._

 _You might think I'm crazy,_

 _but I don't even care._

' _Cause I can tell what's going on,_

 _it's hip to be square."_

The music kept playing as I kept swinging through the infected, making sure none of them touched me. There were that many of the infected swarming the hall, it felt like I was in _Oldboy_ , only I wasn't getting a knife in the back.

When the song finished and the bodies lay mostly in pieces around me thanks to the axe, I walked slowly towards the door of his "surgery", still wielding the axe, now covered in a lot of the blood of the infected.

Knowing he would be in there, safe from harm, I still held the grin prior to when I saw the infected, and knocked gently on the door, quoting the big bad wolf.

"Little _pig_ , little _pig_ " I said in a gruff tone. "Let me _in_. Let me _in_."

"Oh no" I replied in a mock scared tone. "Not by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin."

"Then I'll _huff_ " I said in a much gruffer and deeper tone than before, swinging the axe back and hitting the door significantly. "And I'll _puff_ " I continued, taking another piece of the door, before taking the brunt of the axe and cleaving it through the door's last piece of resistance as I yelled _"_ And I'll _BLOW YOUR HOUSE DOWN!"_

When I went to retrieve the axe _this_ time through the massive hole in the door, _now_ the good Doctor was scared of me, as evidenced by his attempt to arm himself with a scalpel and hide behind his surgery table.

" _Hello_ , Doctor" I said, my smile still like Jack Torrance's as I put my face in the hole. "I'd like to make an _appointment_."

I then used the axe to take apart the rest of the door in case it _did_ turn into the Shining, and I got stabbed in the hand for my troubles.

Once the door was no longer in use, I walked through the wreckage and placed the axe in a corner, then spotted what I'd been looking for, aside from my "brother".

Lying on a table were my psychic paper and my pistol, which both looked untouched.

I put the paper in my pocket but left the gun for now, then walked towards McDowell, whipping out a knife from another pocket.

"What's the _matter,_ Doctor?" I asked as I leaned down to his face with the grin now returning to mine. "The sight of blood _too much_ for you now?"

"You won't _kill_ me" he muttered, this time less effective than from his first encounter. "I'm _untouchable_."

"But that's only if the _legal system_ is on your side" I countered. "Like I said before, I believe in _divine intervention_ , and so far, it's saved _my_ ass more times than it has _yours_."

"Are you _sure_ about that?" Came a calm American voice from behind me, followed by the click of my gun, as a man in a black suit who'd probably been standing there for a while suddenly made himself in view. "We've sent almost every person we _have_ after you, and you've managed to take them down without a care in the world. Not to mention the fact that you should already be _dead_ by our count, given that _all_ of your organs were taken out."

"Yeah. I'm starting to get that" I replied, as I slowly put the knife down and turned around. "Beginning to think there _is_ a plan for me here. Not sure about _you_ lot, but I plan to go a long way in life, starting from _now_."

"And yet you're stood here with a gun at your head, _covered_ in blood and about to murder one person without consequence, with _no_ way out" the man pointed out. "What do you say to _that_?"

" _I_ say that you won't kill me" I said. "For two reasons."

"Uh huh" the man muttered. "And what _exactly_ would _they_ be?"

"For _one_ thing" I replied, pointing with a finger at the gun. "That gun is coded to _my_ palm-print _only_ , so if _you_ try to fire it, you'll only burn your hands."

"Okay" the man scoffed. "And the second?"

"Well, it's quite simple" I smiled, inching closer to him. "The gun's _empty_."

"You _really_ think I'm gonna _fall_ for that?"

"Only _one_ way to find out" I replied. "Here, I'll make it _easy_ for you."

And I used one hand to point the barrel directly at my temple and hold it there, keeping as much of it away from the grip as possible, while also using the other to act as a surrender.

"As a dangerous man once said "You gotta ask yourself a question" I told him. "Do I feel _lucky_?" Well, _do_ ya, _punk_?"

"I don't _believe_ in luck" the man scoffed again. "I believe in the law and the truth."

"Then go on, _shoot_ me" I taunted, not moving except closing my eyes. "I'm dead to fucking rights. Come _on_. _Shoot_ me. _Shootmeshootmeshootmeshootmeshootmeshootme!_!"

" _Fine_ " the man replied before he pulled the trigger. "If it'll shut you _up_."

And _yelled_ as his hands were now _covered_ in burns due to my pistol not registering my DNA.

In that same instant, I sprung into action, disarming the gun and pointing it at his chest.

"Yeah, I _said_ it was empty" I told him as his eyes widened, before I fired twice. "I l _ied_."

"You don't _have_ to do this" the man coughed as he toppled over. "We were just doing our jobs."

"I _know_ " I replied, as I pulled his head up by his hair and making sure that McDowell was watching my cold gaze, before I aimed the gun at his head. "So am _I_."

And like the last person in the lift, I shot him in the head and let his body remain with everyone else's.

 _Now_ McDowell was scared. Watching someone like that get taken out brutally with a man who had no apparent reason, other than to make someone else suffer? The irony was strong with this one.

I put the gun back in my holster as I got up and walked over to him slowly, knocking everything out of my way as I backed him into a corner with no way out.

"Just when I thought I was challenging God, he sends an angel of death for me" McDowell realised, feebly trying to fend me off with a scalpel. "You are _not_ human."

"Maybe you're _right_ " I replied, as I reached into my pocket and withdrew another knife from it, smiling like the Joker. "Maybe I'm _not_ human _._ But I tell you what I _am,_ " _Brother_ ", and that is _persistent._ "

"You don't _have_ to kill me" McDowell pleaded, desperately bargaining for his life. "I'll go somewhere else, and you won't see me again."

"You know _what_ , Doc?" I asked, my grin never leaving my face. "You're _absolutely_ right. In _fact,_ I hear _Hell_ is particularly _warm_ this time of year."

" _Now_ , let's get down to _business_ " I continued, relishing how much I was putting him through. " _I_ remember I made you a _promise_ that I'd _kill_ you with one of these knives. _This_ knife in fact" I emphasised, gesturing to how lethal it looked. "And if you _truly_ knew me _,_ you'd _figure out_ that I _always_ keep my promises."

I knocked the scalpel out of his hand and held him by the neck with one hand, then said "I want you to keep _count_ of this", before I stabbed him 5 times in the chest, taking my time with each one and not blinking until the last one got him.

As he lay bleeding out, I said " _Those_ are for the ones who _didn't_ make it here. As for _me..._ "

I plunged the knife deep in his heart and let it remain there until his life was about to leave him, then finished " _That_ was for _me_."

When his spirit finally emptied, I waited a few minutes using an audio recorder before kneeling beside his body and feeling his lack of pulse, then exiting the room, saying "Try taking organs _now,_ you _cunt._ "

After that, I wiped as much blood off the axe as I could with the uniforms of the workers outside the lift. _They_ weren't using them anymore.

Sighing that I had done the right thing and feeling my rage from this place subside, I walked back into the lift and calmly tapped the hatch door with the blade of the axe.

At once, Grace's voice asked "Who's there?" in a scared tone.

"It's just me" I replied. "No-one else is with me."

"You sure?"

"Yes I'm sure" I assured her. "I've taken care of my business. Can you please help me up, now?"

"Give me a second" Grace replied, before she opened the hatch again, and I saw both her face and the gun I'd gave her tight in her hand.

" _Really?_ " I asked, noticing she still hadn't moved the gun and was fixed on my head. "I _promise_ I'm _not_ a threat."

"Then what were those noises I heard from down there?" she asked, pointing with the gun. "They sounded like people dying."

"Ok, that _is_ true" I replied, before quickly saying "But they _deserved_ it" before she threatened to shoot me there and then. "They were _bad_ people, and they _deserved_ it."

"Alright" Grace sighed, as she put down the gun and lowered her arm. "Up you come."

"Hold on" I said, giving her the axe. "Take this, but don't touch the blade. There's still a bit of blood on it."

" _What?!_ " Grace exclaimed, almost dropping the axe on me. "Then why _take_ it?"

"In case the lifts aren't operating in time, and we need to climb up" I answered. " _That_ axe might be able to open the doors from the inside."

"And if it _doesn't_?"

"At least we tried" I said, again handing her the axe, slowly this time.

"And now _you_ " Grace said, as she extended her hand again and I took it.

"God, you're heavy" she grunted, as both of us got me up and over the hatch to the lift.

"Sorry" I said, as I closed the hatch and dusted myself off. "I've been meaning to lose a bit of weight since Christmas."

"Well, _now_ what?" Grace asked, as we finally made ourselves "comfortable".

"Well, we can either wait for this to blow over, or try to climb up the cable" I replied, looking up at the great distance between us and the rest of the hospital. " _Although_ , judging by the height, it would take us ages to do that."

"What, are you scared of heights or something?" Grace teased with a smile.

"Scared? Nah" I replied, sharing that same smile. "It's just this reminds me so much of high school. The rope-climbing and I never got on very well."

"Then how are you like that?" came her next question. "Lots of exercise?"

" _Something_ like that" I chuckled, knowing how much I'd ran with the Doctor and Jack. "So, what about _you_? What was _your_ education like?"

"Same as _yours_ , really, only I wanted to be an engineer when I was older. I always wanted to know what made things tick and "talk" to them. I made a lot of amazing machines that people say are obsolete given this new world, but I like to think of them as alive."

"Well, if we get out of here, I'd like to take a look at them" I said. "I've done a bit of tech work before, so I might be able to help you. That is, if you _want_ me to, given what you saw me do..."

"At this point, I just want to go home. I mean it was one thing to come here in the first place, but watching you… _you_ know..."

"You don't know whether to kill me or be scared of me" I replied, summing up her thoughts. "I get it. Hell, if it _helps_ , you're not the _first_ woman who's tried to kill me."

" _Really_?" Grace laughed. "Go on."

"Well, there _was_ this woman who we _thought_ was human" I said, remembering a case with Jack. "I had a partner with me on a case we worked. Turned out she'd done a massive transformation from her original form, of like a Silurian mixed with a Sontaran. Let's just say we were _happy_ with her human form, which _attempted_ to change both of us. Tried to use our base as a hunting ground, but my partner outsmarted them by confusing the scents around us and making it attack itself. The end result was… _messy_ , to say the least."

"Eeww" Grace shuddered, wrinkling her nose. "Sorry I asked."

"I told you a story" I pointed out. "I never said it was a _good_ one."

"Are you _always_ this snarky, or did you just develop it?"

"A little of both" I laughed, then turned serious. "Guess it's just the company I keep. I've just been trying to live every day with a happy outlook, and not look back at my history."

"Was it bad?"

"Complicated" I said. "Let's just leave it at that."

"If you say so" Grace said, then looked up thoughtfully.

"What?" I asked, recognising that look from whenever _I'd_ had a crazy idea.

"I was just thinking that if we _do_ try and climb up this cable, we could just stay on the ground floor and wait until this blows over."

"Assuming that there isn't anyone waiting for us" I pointed out, recalling the infected I'd left behind. "But if there _is,_ at least we can defend ourselves."

"Hey, _I_ don't like it any more than _you_ do" Grace said. "But it's better than moping about _here_ and waiting for someone else to show up."

"Alright, then" I muttered after a few seconds. "Let's do it. But we're going to need something to hold onto when we climb up, otherwise that's just going to tear through us like butter."

"What about your coat?" wondered Grace. "Even with the.. _blood_ on it, it _looks_ sturdy enough."

"Damnit" I murmured sadly, as I ripped it apart and made strips out of it for both of us. "I was starting to _like_ this coat."

"When we get out of here, you can get a new one" smiled Grace. "I promise."

"After _you_ " I said, as she put the strip around the cable and started to pull herself up.

"Don't stare!" she called out, as she gradually made progress up the cable. "You wouldn't _believe_ the number of people I've told off."

"Wouldn't dream of it" I replied, using the unused pieces of my coat as a sheath for the axe while I tied it on my back and began to join her climbing.

Still, me being me, I couldn't help but quote John McClane in the vents, which seemed to make the journey a bit more tolerable.

"Come out to the _coast_ , we'll get _together_ , have a few _laughs_ " I muttered, acknowledging the irony of that situation.

Eventually, after a lot of heaving and turmoil, we managed to get to the ground floor, where we could hear voices on the other side of the doors.

"Climb a little higher" I whispered above to Grace, who was nearly about to burst. "I want to try and open the doors."

"I-can't-hold-on-much-longer" she coughed.

"It'll only be for a minute" I said, as I wrapped my legs around the cable like a fireman's pole and lifted the axe from behind my back, but keeping my coat on me like a shawl.

"Come on" I muttered, as I hooked the axe between the lift doors and gently opened them one bit at a time until I could see that we _really_ weren't alone.

"Oh, shit" I said, noticing that there were more of the hospital's infected making their way towards us.

I quickly took out one of the pistols I'd carried and took out as many as I could from this angle, which was a significant amount.

Didn't stop them _completely_ , but it was a good start.

Using the axe to hold the doors apart and act as a limbo bar, I looked up to Grace, who _now_ was about to fall.

I slid through the hole I'd made, then yelled "You can come down now! I've got you!"

"You sure?" Grace asked, as the infected had now began to notice my presence.

" _Yes!_ " I exclaimed, holding out my hand. "Hurry up!"

"Alright" I heard her sigh, then dropped sharply, then immediately grabbed onto my hand.

" _Now_ who's the heavy one?" I teased, as I lifted her back up and onto the same floor as me.

"Still _you_ " she replied, then pointed and screamed at the -almost upon us – infected, shambling towards the lift.

"Get somewhere safe!" I yelled, reaching back for the axe. "I'll hold them off!"

So she did, while I lay back into more of the infected with the axe. I didn't _want_ to kill them, but I just didn't want to _die_ like one of them, so either way, I was doing a bad choice.

 _This_ time, because it wasn't as narrow or closed as the hall downstairs, there were a _lot_ more of the, which made fighting them much harder.

I _literally_ would have died then if it hadn't been for help from not just Grace, who'd managed to find a fire extinguisher and blast them in the face, but also a familiar voice yelling "Come on! I'm in _here_!" from a nearby lift.

"No way" I smiled, even as Grace and I fended what we could off. "No _fucking_ way."

"No way _what_?" Grace asked, as we were now trying to take cover behind one of the front desks.

"You remember those friends I told you about?" I asked. "Guess who finally showed up?"

Suddenly, it got a lot calmer for the two of us as we heard the voices from them disappear and go over to the lift, where the Doctor's yelled out "All they want to do is pass it on!"

"PASS IT _ON_!" He screamed as Grace and I looked over at the residual infected that were slowly being cured by the lift and the touch of others.

"Wow" Grace muttered in amazement. " _Who_ did you say your friend was again?"

"I _didn't_ " I replied, as the man himself appeared a few seconds later and announced "I'm the _Doctor_ , and I _cured_ them."

Rose was right behind him, although it didn't _feel_ like her going by her appearance.

" _Looks like Cassandra didn't take my advice after all"_ I thought, as Grace and I made ourselves visible to him, with my axe being left behind the desk.

"It's a new sub-species, Cassandra" the Doctor told her, as he still looked around the room. "A _brand-new_ form of _life. New_ humans. _Look_ at them. _Look_!"

"Grown by _cats_ , fed by _tubes_ , kept in the _dark_ , but _completely, **completely** alive_!"

He spun around quickly and pointed his finger at her. "You can't _deny_ them, 'cause _you_ helped _create_ them. The human race just keeps on going. Keeps on changing. Life will out! _Ha_!"

His smile quickly faded once he looked around and saw Grace and I appearing from our hold-out spot, and the amount of blood over my clothes.

"I see _you've_ been busy" I told him as we approached each other.

"Says _you_ " he replied, looking at both the blood and the bodies behind us before sighing. "Do I even _want_ to knowwhat happened?"

"Not _really_ " I said. "Except, you think _I'm_ bad, you should see the _other_ guys."

"I'd rather _not_ " the Doctor murmured, before noticing Grace and shaking her hand. " _Sorry._ I'm the Doctor, but you probably got that from me already. _Who_ are you?"

"Grace" she answered. "Grace MacCready."

" _Grace MacCready_ " he muttered, lost in thought. "I _know_ I've heard that name before. I just don't know _where._ Give me a bit and it'll come back to me."

"Is he _alright_?" Grace asked me, pulling me in to her as he walked away. "He just looks a bit… _kooky_ , if you get what I mean."

"That tends to happen with a lot of people" I replied. "Sorry. I forgot to say _earlier_. We're.. _kind of_ time-travellers, _so…_ , that _may_ be a reason why he knows your name. Either that, or you've an ancestor with the same name. Either or in most cases."

"Wait. Did you say " _time-travellers_ "?" Grace asked, her eyes now beaming.

"Oh, God" I muttered, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Here we go again."

"I'm _sorry_. I don't _mean_ to be this hyper, but I can't _tell_ you how much I've _waited_ for this moment. It's just one of the inventions that I've been trying to get to work has been a portable _time_ and _space_ machine, capable of transporting _thousands_ of species across vast distances."

"And by "portable" you mean..."

"Able to fit into your pocket by combining it with size-altering technology" Grace said, happy that someone was finally acknowledging her work.

"Wow" I said, after trying to get a sentence in order. "That's… that's _ambitious_."

"I _know_ , right?" Grace asked, jumping up and down with glee. "All I needed was someone to help me _believe_ in it and get it to work."

"And you think _I'm_ that person?"

"I mean you _did_ offer to look at it if we got out of this" Grace pointed out, as we saw the Doctor race back to us. "Either _you_ or your _friend_ here."

"Trust me. I'm _good_ , but I'm not _that_ good" I said, before the Doctor stopped in front of us, almost out of breath.

" _That's_ where I'd knew your name from!" he exclaimed, once he got his breath back. " _Grace MacCready_ , 1st woman to successfully help the human race on _this_ Earth _thrive_ and move to other _planets_ thanks to her technology!"

"How many people does it help?" I asked, while Grace looked ecstatic.

" _Billions_ , Marty. _Billions_!" he exclaimed happily, as Grace looked on in glee.

"You-You mean I'm _saving_ people?" she wondered, suddenly grasping the situation. "They're all using _my_ technology?"

"Oh, _yeah_ " the Doctor grinned as he gave her a massive hug. "And it's all thanks to _you_ ".

"I-I don't know what to say" she mumbled, now trying not to faint. "I mean, I wanted _something_ good to come of my work. I just didn't think it would be _this_."

"It's like I told everyone _here_ " the Doctor replied, pointing to the new humans that were still "with" us. "The human race just keeps on going. And now _you're_ part of it."

"I think I need a minute" she whispered, before she ran off to find a seat.

I was about to walk over and comfort her, before the Doctor held me back.

"What's the matter?" I asked, noticing the sad look in his eyes.

"What I said _is_ true" he replied, as we both looked over at Grace's happy expression. "She _will_ make this world much better than it ever _has_ been. _But_..."

"But _what_?" I asked, realising his look hadn't changed. "Does something _happen_ to her?"

"Essentially, she doesn't live to see her work come to fruition" the Doctor answered, looking down in sadness. "Don't get me _wrong._ Her work _does_ see the light of day before she goes. But it'll take _years_ afterwards for it to be recognised as a marvel."

"Oh, my God" I whispered. "Is there anything we can do?"

"We can help Grace achieve her dream by getting her home" the Doctor said. "After _that_ , her life is in her _own_ hands."

"Just when I thought we getting to a peaceful resolution" I muttered, before Grace returned to us and we attempted to cover up our tears.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, noticing our faces.

"Just… thinking back on memories" I told her. " _Bad_ memories."

"I'm sorry" she replied. "Look, I never got a chance to thank you earlier for saving me, so… thanks, I guess."

"You're welcome" I muttered, then noticed "Rose" standing at the end of the room, still not interacting with anyone, especially _me_.

"Was she a problem?" I asked the Doctor, pointing over to her.

"Oh, _yeah_ " he said. "In _fact_ , _she's_ the reason why all of the new humans, or… _most_ of them" he stopped, glancing at the ones I'd "taken care of", "are here now. I don't blame you for trying to hold them off, but you could have done it with less… _ferocity._ "

"Sorry" I replied. "It was either I end up like _them_ , or try to take them _down_. If there had've been a _third_ option, I would have taken it."

"So what _now_?" I wondered, looking around and figuring that something had to be done here.

" _Now_ , we wait for the police to come here" came the Doctor's response. "Given what this place _was_ , there's a lot of "patients" that won't be happy."

"I can imagine" I muttered, wanting the police to discover what I'd went through.

If they _did_ , they'd find an audio recording I'd made when I'd finished my _business_ , detailing what exactly happened there, and that the Earth was a much safer place thanks to my efforts.

* * *

A few hours later, after we'd helped to clean the hospital as best we could, _then_ the police arrived in their ships.

"This is the NNYPD" they announced from their speakers. "Please step away from the shuttles."

By now, all _4_ of us – The Doctor, myself, Grace and _Rose –_ had finally gone back up in a lift to where Ward 26 was, to find the staff being led out by the police.

" _All staff will present themselves to the officers for immediate arrest"_ came the PA in the same voice as earlier. _"I repeat, immediate arrest. All new life-forms will be catalogued and taken into care. All visitors to the hospital will be required to make a statement to the NNYPD."_

As the Doctor heard that last part of the sentence, he suddenly remembered. "The Face of _Boe_!" he exclaimed, running towards it with all of us following behind.

We arrived to find him awake and looking around at the ward.

"You were supposed to be _dying_ " the Doctor said, fixing his suit as I smiled sadly towards him.

" _There are better things to do today"_ Jack replied. _"Dying can wait."_

"Oh, I _hate_ telepathy" Cassandra moaned. "Just what I _need_. A head full of _big face_."

"Shh" the Doctor and I told her together, before we turned back to him.

" _I had grown tired with the universe, Doctor, but you two have told me to look at it anew"_ Jack said, gesturing to me as well.

"There _are_ legends, you know" the Doctor told him, kneeling down before him. "Saying you're _millions_ of years old."

" _Now, that would be impossible"_ Jack almost seemed to chuckle.

"Wouldn't it _just_?" I laughed, sharing his joke.

"I got the feeling there was something you wanted to _tell_ me" the Doctor said, wondering what it was.

" _The great secret."_

"So the legend says" the Doctor muttered.

" _It can wait._ "

" _Oh_ " the Doctor pouted. "Does it _have_ to?"

" _We shall meet again, you two"_ Jack said again to the both of us. _"For the third time, for the **last** time, and the truth shall be told. Until that day..."_

He then teleported away, leaving the Doctor amazed at both his technique, and his message.

"That.. that is _enigmatic_ " he muttered. "That… that is _**textbook** enigmatic_."

"And _now_ for _you_ " he said, turning around to Cassandra, who had been looking at her nails as if nothing had changed.

"But everything's _happy_ " she replied, seeing that both he and I were looking at her to _end_ this charade of hers. "Everything's _fine_. Can't you just _leave_ me?"

She said the last bit with a bit of a flirtatious edge, which, even though it _was_ her in Rose's body and made it even more… _risque…,_ it wasn't as effective as she hoped it would be.

"You've lived _long enough_ " the Doctor said, breaking her spirit. "Leave that body and _end_ it, Cassandra."

"But I don't want to _die_ " she cried, possibly for the first time _without_ resulting to crocodile tears.

"No-one _does_ " I told her, sadly, knowing our lives.

" _Help_ me!" she pleaded feebly.

"We _can't_ " the Doctor out bluntly.

Just then, an unfamiliar voice called out "Mistress!"

"Oh, you're _alive_!" she replied, as a pale man ran forward to us, dressed in hospital robes and a headband.

"I think it's time we left" I whispered to Grace, as we left the three of them alone, knowing what was still to come. "Come on. I'll take you back to our ship. Then we can take you home."

"Alright" Grace replied, as we made our way back to the lift and descended back to the ground floor in silence.

When the doors opened, the police were still conducting their investigation. I wondered if they'd gone back to where I had been yet. If not, they were in for a surprise.

Thanks to them, however, it was much more… _peaceful_ than it had been before.

"5 billion years, and healthcare is _still_ screwing you over" I joked to Grace, as we walked out with my tattered clothes still on me akin to Die Hard.

"Ain't _that_ the truth" she replied, as both of us readjusted to the light outside. "So… which one's _yours_?"

"Funny you should _say_ that..." I told her, pointing over the hills to where the Tardis had landed.

" _No_..." she muttered, measuring the distance mentally. "You're _kidding_."

"No, I'm _not_. Sadly, that means a lot of walking to her."

I then recalled what I'd _added_ to the Tardis and smiled, hoping my phone was still in my pocket.

"What?" Grace asked, as I finally found it and pulled it out.

 _Astonishingly_ , it had survived the ordeal in the hospital, despite me turning it off by accident. The screen still needed a wipe and the buttons were functioning as best they could, but it _worked_ , more or less.

" _You'll_ see" I said, finding the Tardis console and dialing.

When it picked up, I said "ANDROS, activate protocol Echo Tango 82" then hung up.

30 seconds later, the familiar whooshing and wheezing of the Tardis was heard as it reappeared right in front of us.

"Wait. _That's_ your ship?" Grace asked, disbelieving what she was seeing. "A blue box?"

"It gets better" I smirked, bending down to one of my shoes and taking it off.

Lifting the inner sole up, I was rewarded with my key that I lifted out and held in my hand.

"It's in the event of emergencies" I clarified to Grace as I put it back on. "It's either I put it _there_ or I swallow it."

"Ok..." she muttered, unsure. "I mean, I _guess_ it's better."

"Just try not to freak out, alright?" I asked, walking over and beginning to insert the key into the lock. "Nearly everyone _does_..."

"Why...?" Grace began, then I opened the door for her and gestured her in.

"But… it's..." she started in awe.

"Yep" I smiled. "Keep _going_."

"It's bigger..."

"On the _inside_ " I mouthed with the rest of her words as she walked in slowly, shutting the door behind her. "Yep. She gets that a lot."

"Oh, _wow_ " Grace looked around the console with intrigue. "This is _amazing_."

" _Isn't_ she?" I laughed. "This is the Tardis. Stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space. _And_ , she's _our_ ship."

"When you say "our"..."

"Well, I technically mean she's the _Doctor's_ ship" I explained, "But, that doesn't mean we can't travel around in her as companions. Like today, we're _always_ getting into adventures, whether we _want_ to or not. That's what you get when you sign up for this."

"So… you do this for a _living_?"

" _Living_? _Noooo_ " I emphasised, sitting down on a seat. " _Trust_ me. If we did this for a _living_ , people would _know_ about us. We're just… doing this because we _can_. The Doctor and adventure are inseparable. You can't have one without the other."

"So, what about _you_ , then?" Grace wondered. "Where do _you_ fall into it?"

"I'm… more… _complicated_ " I began, before getting interrupted by the Doctor and Rose carrying in the man we'd seen before over their shoulders.

"Thanks, Marty" the Doctor said, as I went over to the doors and closed them after the trio had entered. "Saves us all a lot of time walking."

"Where are we going?" I asked him, as Rose set the man down on one of the seats and held onto him tight.

"A party" Rose answered sadly, comforting him and looking at the Doctor.

"Call it a parting gift" he added, beginning to set the controls.

"You might want to hold on" I said to Grace as I approached her. "It gets really bumpy."

"I'll be fine" she replied. "I've dealt with worse."

"Alright" I smiled, as I held onto the railings. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

A few seconds later, the Tardis started up again and everyone was doing as best as they could to stay calm, Grace and Rose the most of all.

True to my word, Grace ended up like me when _I'd_ first traveled with the Doctor, head bump and all.

"Ow!" she yelled, rubbing her head while we tried to stablise ourselves.

"You want a hand?" I inquired, holding mine out so she could stand up.

"Thanks" she said, as she got back up. "Please tell me there's somewhere here that's _not_ as chaotic."

"I know _just_ the place" I replied, as I slowly led her back to my room while the Doctor and Rose kept the man company.

"Why are we _here_?" Grace asked, as I opened my bedroom door.

"Because it's either _here_ , or you can get _lost_ within the Tardis" I answered, showing her around. "I'm not making that _up_. This place is _huge_."

"Okay..." Grace muttered, noticing my tools and the work benches. "I just didn't think you'd be _serious_ about this. I just thought you'd be _trying_ something. A guy of your _nature_ , I mean."

"What, you mean…?" I asked, then quickly gathered what she meant as we both sat down on the bed. "Oh, _no._ I didn't bring you here for _that_. I just wanted to get a moment of _peace_ from what happened earlier. I mean, don't get me _wrong_. You're a good _person,_ and I'd like to know you _better._ It's just… I've lost a lot of people that I held _dear_ to me… people I wanted to _be_ with, for a _long_ time. But, _my_ life is so full of _misery_ that it's hard to be _happy_."

I was now on the verge of tears, and would have started crying like I did on the Game Station if Grace hadn't put her hand on mine and held it tight.

"I know how you feel" she said, breaking the tension.

"You _do_?" I asked, as I dried my eyes with my other hand.

"Yeah. The reason why _am_ the way I _am_ is because my _dad_ was an engineer just _like_ me. He always saw machines as _more_ than gears and circuitry. He saw their _potential_ and would try to get ahead of the curve so that _he'd_ be the one to bring the human race forward.

That was until he got drafted into working for the _CIA_ here… _One_ day, he's the happiest I've ever seen him. The _next_ … The next he's saying he was set up by a sting operation and got promptly _burned_ for his troubles. He's in prison for something he didn't commit, and _I'm_ the one he trusts to keep the family name in good hands. And thanks to what your _friend_ says about me, that _technology_ might be the thing to make it _work_ for me."

"I'm sorry about your dad" I murmured, still feeling her hand on mine.

"Thanks. I'm just glad _someone_ feels the same way. You wouldn't _believe_ how hard I've tried to put my past behind me."

"You're not the _only_ one" I replied, sighing. "I came from a world _literally_ at war with the universe. I'm talking _apocalyptic_ levels of destruction. I've seen _good_ people _just_ like _you_ risk their lives to save everyone else. People I _loved_ and would give _anything_ to see them again. But I know I _can't,_ not just because of being _here_ in the _Tardis_ , but _also_..."

I trailed off, wondering if A. She'd _believe_ me, and B. Wouldn't _freak out_ as a result of it.

"Also _what_?" Grace asked, putting an arm around my back. "Whatever it is, I'll get through it."

" _Also_ the fact that I'm _immortal_ " I finished, as Grace looked on in confusion. "I wish I was _joking,_ but I'm _not._ I _am_ immortal. I _have_ been for a bit now."

It took a few minutes for Grace to process all of this. I couldn't blame her for shutting down. I mean, if someone straight up _tells_ you they're immortal, what would you even _ask_ them? "When did it start? _How_ immortal are you?" The usual shtick.

When she _recovered_ , she did _indeed_ ask those questions, along with others which I attempted to answer.

The _big_ question however was "So, what does that mean for _other_ people?"

"It means that I can live with them for as long as _possible_ " I replied, sadly. "But no matter how long I live for, I _know_ I'll end up alone. I have a friend who's like me and has the _exact same problem_ , but they managed to keep track of their sanity and bravado intact via booze and the like. _Me?_ I don't know if I'll _get_ that far. I mean, today _alone_ is a reason why I'm unstable. If I hadn't met _you_ , I'd be off the deep end with _no_ way back."

"Well, you've got the Doctor here while you both last" Grace comforted me. "Plus, if you _hadn't_ met me, I would have ended up _dead_ down there. I just want to say again. Thank you for saving me. It's made me appreciate life just a little more. Hopefully _you_ can do the same."

With that, she gave me a hug as we heard the Tardis land.

"Must be time to go home" she said, as we both got up and went to check the console.

Instead, we saw Rose, the Doctor and the man from earlier walk out with a mournful look on their faces, the _Doctor's_ especially.

"Let them have their moment" I told Grace. "This is something we need to stay out of."

"You sure?" she asked, as the Doctor left the door ajar.

"Positive" I replied sadly, sitting down at the console. "We've had _our_ moment. Now, _they_ need to have _their_ part done."

"Again, I'm sorry for your new life" she told me, walking over and joining me. "But that doesn't mean it has to be doom and gloom. I _know_ you'll find your purpose in life, even if it takes you a _long_ while to get to it."

" _Now_ you sound like the Tardis" I smiled. "She said the same thing more or less when I _started_ on this part of my life. It's still early days, but I want to _believe_ I'm doing the right thing. I used to think _survival_ was a necessity, because of how much I'd done of it. Looking forward, I see it more as a way of redemption."

" _That's_ the spirit" Grace replied, sharing the smile and punching me jokingly in the arm.

"I _am_ sad you have to _go_ , though" I said, after a silence. "I mean, after we leave you _off_ , you'll probably never see us again. I would have loved to stick around and watch your work, and also talk to you _more_ about this."

"You still _can_ " Grace pointed out. "This _is_ a _time_ machine, after all."

"Yeah, but the thing with the Tardis is that she takes the Doctor where he _needs_ to go" I told her. "When he _wants_ to go somewhere _deliberately_ , it's once in a blue moon. Who knows if we _will_ see each other again?"

"Then we'd better make this last as long as it can" Grace replied, noticing my iPod earphones sticking out from my coat pocket.

Lifting it out, she murmured "I haven't seen one of these in _years._ Is it _yours_?"

"Yeah" I said. "It was a Christmas present from my partner."

"Shall we have a dance, then?" she asked, holding her hand out.

I took it, then said "Not _here._ I know _just_ the place."

As we both smiled and headed back to my room, I heard the Doctor and Rose enter the Tardis and come back towards the console.

"Marty, you alright?" came the Doctor's distant question.

"Yep" I replied, as I closed the door behind me. "Just _peachy_."

" _Shall_ we?" I asked Grace with a smile, who had taken the earphones out of my iPod and let it sit on the bed. "I know _exactly_ what song to play."

"Go on, then" she teased as I selected the track and hit play.

When it started, we both slowly danced close together to the sound of Frank Sinatra singing one of his best known songs:

" _I've got you, under my skin_

 _I've got you, deep in the heart of me_

 _So deep in my heart, that you're really a part of me_

 _I've got you, under my skin_

 _I tried so not to give in_

 _I said to myself "This affair never will go so well."_

 _But why should I try to resist, when baby I know so well_

 _I've got you under my skin?_

 _I'd sacrifice anything come what might, for the sake of having you near_

 _In spite of a warning voice that comes in the night and repeats, repeats in my ear_

" _Don't you know, little fool? You never can win_

 _Use your mentality. Wake up to reality."_

 _But each time that I do, just the thought of you makes me stop before I begin_

' _Cause I've got you, under my skin"_

"You're the first girl I've ever danced with who wasn't _afraid_ of me a lot" I told Grace when the song finished and I spun her around carefully. "The _last_ one was back in high school, and that was for a _bet_ I lost. But _you…_ _You're_ something _else_."

"Aww. Thanks" she replied sweetly, before we realised that the Doctor had now listened in on the song and held the door open a crack.

"Hope I'm not interrupting" he said, as the two of us broke apart. "It's just I'm ready to take you home now, Grace. You coming?"

"Yeah" she said, taking my hand again. "I'm _ready_."

The Doctor led us back to the console and Grace told him where her address was, all the while looking at me with glowing eyes.

After he put it in, and we were transported in front of it, which looked _amazing_ compared to the others around it, she opened the doors, happy to be back.

Before she left, though, I walked out and joined her, wanting to say goodbye.

I _did_ , just not in the way either of us were expecting.

As I walked Grace back to her door, she turned around and reached out her arm, taking a red and green bracelet off it.

"This is a bracelet I wear to give me good luck when I'm working" she said, handing it to me. "I'd like _you_ to have it. Hopefully, it'll be the thing to _soothe_ the savage beast."

"I _love_ it" I replied, holding it tight. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Goodbye, Marty" she said, giving me a hug. "Hopefully we'll see each other again soon. Fingers crossed."

"I wouldn't doubt that at all" I replied, as we now parted ways. "Bye!"

And with that, she walked back into _her_ home as I did _mine_.

Closing the doors behind me, I put the bracelet onto one of my arms and smiled.

"Don't worry, Marty" the Doctor said, when we exchanged a glance. "You've made Grace's history much _better_ as a result. Her technology will _still_ impact the human race significantly. But _now_ , she has a _friend_ who she trusted in, and helped to _ensure_ that time will not forget her, _or_ her work."

"For once, I did _great_ " I replied, slowly walking around the console. "I didn't think I'd actually make a _difference_ in the universe now, given _what_ , or rather _who_ I'm with. I just saw someone about to end up the same way as me and I stopped them."

"That's _time-travel_ for you" the Doctor explained, taking a seat. "No matter how _insignificant_ you feel an action is, the second you _take_ it, you _change_ the space-time continuum, for better or worse. It's just up to _you_ to decide _how_ that should take place and _when_ it needs to happen. Otherwise, what's the point of having a _time_ machine to _begin_ with?"

"To visit historic sights" the Tardis replied, scaring the both of us slightly. "Either that, or to take you to new adventures where history _demands_ your involvement. _That_ is what I feel I'm for. What about _you,_ Marty?"

"I agree with both of you" I answered her. "The whole of time and space _needs_ someone like the Doctor to inspire hope, but also to show the universe when exactly you need to… "answer the call", so to speak", gesturing to the phone.

"Couldn't have said it better myself" the Doctor laughed, as the two of us parted ways. "Until next time, Marty."

"Later" I said, heading towards the showers.

10 minutes later, after scrubbing off as much blood as I could from what was still on me and getting changed in my room, I put my psychic paper and my pistol back into the drawer I'd lifted them from, then thrown the coat and shirt in with the "disposables" pile.

Finally, I took off the bracelet Grace had given me and put it beside my bed, as a reminder that I'd helped someone out and made a friend in the process.

Dozing off, I felt content with how this adventure had ended...

 **A/N 2 - _Well_ , that was certainly something to write, especially the ending. Like in the last chapter, I said I didn't want a romance to start yet. I just wanted a friendship to start up between Marty and someone else, no matter how brief it may seem.**

 _ **Also**_ **like I said last chapter, _this_ is when the violence goes all the way up. This was only the appetiser for what Marty can do when he's unleashed, and we've still got a lot _more_ of this series, especially the _next_ one, when he encounters something that _disagrees_ with him, shall we say?**

 **The next chapter is something that I've been wanting to get to since the beginning of this story, and it'll help set up the type of character Marty becomes in the future. See, the question of this story isn't "Will Marty _survive_?" He's _immortal._ Of _course_ he will. The question _here_ is: "What will Marty _sacrifice_ in order to still _live_?"**

 **All this and many more questions will be answered in "Of Time, Space and Beyond Humanity Volume 2"**

 **Until next time, thanks for reading.**


	3. Bad Moon Rising

**Of Time, Space and Beyond Humanity Volume 2**

 _When the deadly world of Doctor Who merges with mine, nothing is safe. To end this nightmare, I am sent back through time to find the one person capable of doing so. But what if my actions cause the very future I am trying to save? Well, as a wise man once said: "The future is whatever you make it! So make it a good one!"_

 **Chapter 3 - Bad Moon Rising**

 **A/N - Yeah... Time really hasn't been on my side, has it? But in my defence, I was trying to bolster this chapter up as best as I could, given that it's going to be the tipping point for what Marty will go through in his future. I can't say any more than that, other than to expect the full song of the title throughout. Enjoy!**

A few days after New Earth, Rose had asked if we could go to the 1970s, and promptly dressed for the occasion.

I thought _"Fuck it. Why not?"_ and got changed as well, into clothes I thought would work best. An outfit almost entirely black, from my jacket to my shoes. The only thing that was _vibrant_ was the bracelet I'd got from Grace and wore under my sleeve as a reminder that no matter how _dark_ things got, there's _always_ a little colour shining through.

Like my _previous_ adventure, I had taken the psychic paper and put it in a pocket for ease of access.

 _This_ time, _however_ , I'd spent my days expanding my arsenal and replaced my usual pistol with a Colt revolver. I _knew_ what was coming this time, and wanted to be prepared, so I made sure that I had enough _silver_ to use for the bullets, then crafted enough so that when _worst_ came to _worst_ , at least I'd go down fighting again.

When I walked out after hiding it in my holster and joined Rose and the Doctor, he almost cracked up in laughter at seeing my clothes.

"Marty, we're going somewhere _sunny_ " he said. "Not _Folsom prison_."

"What can I _say_?" I asked him. "Johnny Cash was a great man. Seems a shame not to pay tribute to him."

"Alright" he murmured. "Whatever keeps you going."

"What do you think of _this_ , then?" Rose asked him, as she finished lifting out _her_ clothes from her bag and showed the both of us what _she'd_ chosen.

"For the late 1970s, you'd be better off in a _bin-bag_ " he replied, walking to the console and flipping a switch. "Hold on, listen to _this_. Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Number 1 in 1979."

As "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick" kicked off and the Doctor started singing along to it, I couldn't help but laugh.

"What?" Rose asked, while I mimed the drums on the console.

"Every time I hear this song, I'm reminded of the story the _bassist_ tells" I began with a smile. "He joked in interviews that when they recorded this song, he thought he was getting paid by the _note_ , hence the reason it sounds so _wild_. I didn't think there was any _truth_ to it, but that's what you get when you grow up around music like I did."

"I didn't know you were _this_ much into music" the Doctor mused. "Aside from the current outfit and your earphones, I mean."

"Well, before they had _me_ , my parents wanted to be the next Sonny and Cher" I replied. "Only they had their minds set on trying to make it more… _energetic_ than others had been. In _fact_ , _this_ was one of the first songs I ever _learned_ to play on bass, along with _My Generation_ , which really tells you all you _need_ to about me."

" _My Generation_ " the Doctor muttered to himself before chuckling. " _Yeah_. That _is_ accurate. I'll say _that_."

"You _two_ are a punch of _punks_!" Rose joked as the song continued. " _Punks_ with a bit of… _rockabilly_ thrown in!"

"You want to _see_ him, then?" I asked, still keeping in time with the music.

"What? In _concert_?"

"What else is a Tardis _for_?" the Doctor asked, both of us still not forgetting our talk from me leaving off Grace. "I can take you to the Battle of Trafalgar, the Anti-gravity Olympics, Caesar crossing the Rubicorn, _or_ Ian Dury at the Top Rank, Sheffield, England, Earth, 21st November 1979, what do you _think_?"

"Sheffield it _is_ " Rose agreed with a smile.

"Hold on tight!" the Doctor said, as all of us did just that while the Tardis took us to our _actual_ destination, all the while still playing the song.

When she finally arrived, the Doctor banged on a bell with a hammer in time with the music, shouting "Landing!", until at last we _did_.

I was the only _stable_ one who had held on to _some_ part of the Tardis. The Doctor and Rose however had fell onto their backs, laughing when they realised what had just happened.

"Come on" I said to them, holding both arms out for them to grab.

"Thanks" Rose replied, as they both got up and ran towards the doors, with me following close behind.

"1979" The Doctor announced, as he led us near the doors and retrieved his coat. " _Hell_ of a year. China invades Vietnam. The Muppet Movie, _love_ that film. Margaret Thatcher, _ugh! Skylab_ falls to Earth, with a little help from _me_."

"Nearly took off my _thumb_ " he continued, as he opened the door and walked outside. "And I _like_ my thumb. I _need_ my thumb, I'm very _attached_ to..."

He suddenly stopped, as all 3 of us found ourselves staring at what looked like a royal escort, judging by the coach they were surrounding and their uniforms. All of them bar one were pointing their rifles at us and making us raise up our hands in surrender.

" _1879_ " the Doctor realised as Rose and I looked at him in confusion. "Same difference."

"You will explain your presence" the one who looked to be the leader – judging by the fact that he was the only one aiming a revolver – said to the Doctor in a Scottish accent, "And the nakedness of this girl."

"Are we in _Scotland_?" the Doctor asked with glee written all over his face in that same accent.

"How can you be ignorant of _that_?" the same man asked him, not moving the gun at all.

"Oh, I'm dazed and confused" the Doctor replied. "I've been chasing this wee naked child over hill and over dale. Isn't that _right,_ ye… Timorous beastie?" he asked Rose, who had the same look on her face as before.

"Och, aye" Rose replied, in a _bad_ impression that was worse than what I'd expected. "I've been oot and aboot."

"Don't do that" I whispered to her, to which she replied "Hoots, mon?"

"No, _really_ " the Doctor added. "Just don't."

"And what of _you_ , sir?" the man asked me, gesturing to _my_ clothes. "A man should not be covered in such clothing of that colour, unless he is a highwayman, out to steal."

Doing a much more _convincing_ Scottish impression than Rose, I replied "Oh, I'm just here to give this poor fellow a _hand_. Apparently this wee lass was too much for _one_ man to handle, so _I_ was asked to come along. Don't _worry_ " I assured them as Rose looked on in shock at what I'd just said. "I'm not here to _rob_ you, _or_ your _party_."

"If that is _true_ , we would like to see your credentials" the man said to the Doctor, never moving the gun away from us. " _Both_ of you."

I could see the Doctor's face quickly change to a scared expression until he turned to me and saw that I'd already done the same as him, which was to reach into our pocket and pull out the psychic paper.

"I'm Doctor James McCrimmon" he told the soldiers as Rose looked on with a smug look. "From the township of… Balamory."

"As you can _see,_ a doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. Trained under Dr Bell himself."

"And now _you_ " the man said, as I announced "My name is Connor McCloud. I work as a detective out of Glasgow, making sure that families are reunited, and the unruly are given their dues."

"And the _clothing_?" he asked as I still held onto my paper.

"I was working a case and wanted to blend into my surroundings" I replied, hoping it would work. "I work much better in the dark when they're _not_ trying to come after me. Again, I am not trying to _rob_ you. I'm trying to _help_ you."

Even as the soldiers kept their guns trained on us, a woman's voice spoke, interrupting the silence.

"Let them approach" she told them.

"I don't think that's _wise,_ ma'am" the soldier urged, not moving an inch.

"Let them _approach_ " she ordered, to which the Doctor gestured to the man in a manner of " _Well_?"

"You will approach the carriage" he ordered the three of us as he began to holster his weapon.. "And show all due defference."

"Will do" I nodded, as we headed off to see who was in the carriage.

When we had almost arrived, a footman was there to open the door and reveal to us a woman who turned _out_ to be…

" _Rose_ , _Connor_ " the Doctor said as we looked her in the eyes. "Might I introduce Her Majesty Queen Victoria, Empress of India, and Defender of the Faith."

"Rose Tyler, ma'am" Rose added, curtsying a little. "And my apologies, for being so naked."

"I've had 5 daughters" Victoria replied. "It's _nothing_ to me."

"But _you two_ " she said to the Doctor and I. "Show me these credentials."

As I lifted my paper out and showed it to her first, Victoria said "I've never _seen_ a detective such as _yourself_ before, nor one who resorts to such _measures_ to accomplish their tasks. Have you been doing this _long_?"

"5 years, ma'am" I answered honestly. "I've helped those in need when they required assistance, and put those lawbreakers away for good. Should you ever need hard questions to be asked, I will be there to help."

"I _see_ " Victoria muttered, and I knew it was time for the Doctor's to be examined.

As he handed it to her and she looked at it, she asked "Why didn't you say so _immediately_? It states _clearly_ here that you have been appointed by the Lord Provost as my _protector_."

" _Does_ it?" the Doctor asked himself quietly. "It _does_. _Good, good._ "

"Then let me ask, why is your Majesty travelling by _road_ , when there's a _train_ all the way to _Aberdeen_?"

"A tree on the line" she replied.

"An _accident_?" I wondered with genuine curiousity.

"I am the Queen of the _United Kingdom_ , of _Great Britain_ and _Ireland._ Everything around _me_ tends to be _planned."_

"An _assassination_ attempt?" the Doctor asked her, before Rose interjected "What, _seriously_? There's people out to _kill_ you?"

"I'm quite used to staring down the barrel of a gun" Victoria replied with her grace still intact.

The soldier who'd "interrogated" us told us all "Sir Robert MacLeish lives but ten miles hence. We've sent word ahead. _He'll_ shelter us for tonight, then we'll reach Balmoral tomorrow."

"This doctor, this detective, and their "Timorous beastie" will come _with_ us" Victoria told her guard.

"Yes, ma'am" the soldier replied as the Doctor and I smiled at her. "We'd better get moving, it's almost nightfall."

" _Indeed_ " Victoria added. "And there are stories of _wolves_ in these parts. _Fanciful_ tales, intended to scare the children. But good for the _blood_ , I think" she added with a hint of joy in her voice, before addressing her driver. "Drive on."

He did so, as the three of us followed behind the carriage, and then the royal guard behind us.

 _"I see a bad moon rising_

 _I see troubles on the way_

 _I see earthquakes and lightning_

 _I see bad times today"_

"Where did you get that _paper_ from, Marty?" the Doctor whispered and trying not to draw attention to ourselves. " _Mine_ is the only set I _have_ with me, so unless you're using a duplicate or it's someone else's, I want an _explanation_."

"My partner gave me it as a gift" I replied, telling half the story. "They said that because of my _new_ life, I'd be more… at _risk_ , and that it might help save it and not die in the process. I'm surprised you asked about _that_ and not the _name_ I picked."

"Well, that _had_ crossed my mind when you said it" he said. "Still. _Connor McCloud?_ _ **Really**_?"

"I wanted to be a literal _Highlander_ " I responded. "Combine that with the accent, and it's sort of a winning combination."

"Are you two done?" Rose asked, looking straight at me, "Or are you gonna keep going? 'Cause right _now_ , I want to know what she meant by _assassination_. I mean, you hear _that_ , you think Kennedy and stuff, not _her._ "

"1879, she's had about, ooh, _six_ attempts on her life" the Doctor told her. "And I'll tell you something _else._ We just met _Queen Victoria_!"

"I _know_!" Rose jumped, as they both laughed together while I tried to keep my cool in the presence of these men.

"What a _laugh_!" the Doctor added, while the two of them kept talking.

I didn't pay much attention to what they were saying. I was too wrapped up in my own thoughts to notice.

" _If I'm right about how this turns out, it'll be the death of me"_ I thought, slowly lowering my hand to where my revolver was in its holster along with the ammo. _"And not in a **good** way. Then again, what **won't** be the death of me?" _

I continued consulting my inner monologue all the way to our destination, which turned out to be a very pleasant looking manor full of charm just from the exterior.

When everyone came to a stop and Victoria was walked out by her footman, 3 men came and approached to welcome us to the house.

The one who came to the front was smartly dressed and the owner of the house, judging by the way he held himself.

The _others_ however reminded me of some thugs I'd beat up once after a bad night of drinking with Jack. He _tried_ to not be _himself_ , but one thing led to _another_ and _well_ … Let's just say there were _more_ than _punches_ thrown during that fight.

"Your Majesty" he bowed with a slight nervousness in his voice which the Doctor and I acknowledged as basically _anyone_ who met royalty would convey.

"Sir Robert" she replied, as he stood back up. "My apologies for the emergency. And how is Lady Isobel?"

"She's… _indisposed_ , I'm afraid" Robert answered, and _this_ time the Doctor and I picked up on the amount of _fear_ in his voice as he said that. "She's gone to Edinburgh for the season. And she's taken the _cook_ with her. The kitchens are _barely_ stocked. I wouldn't _blame_ your Majesty if you wanted to _ride_ on."

"No, not at all" Victoria replied, not getting the hint. "I've had _enough_ carriage exercise, and this is… _Charming_ , if rustic. It's my first visit to this house. My _late_ husband spoke of it often. The _Torchwood_ Estate."

At _that_ word, I tried not to show _my_ fear in front of the Doctor and Rose, who were thankfully oblivious to my face and replied to Victoria as she again called Rose "naked".

"She's a feral child" the Doctor explained. "I bought her for sixpence in old London town. It was either _her_ or the Elephant Man."

"He thinks he's funny, but I'm _so_ not amused" Rose said. "What do _you_ think, ma'am?"

"It hardly _matters_ " Victoria replied, and I cottoned on to what Rose was trying to do, which was to get her to say "We are _not_ amused" at any cost. "Shall we proceed?" she asked Robert as he led her inside, along with the – obviously – creepy butlers and staff.

"Mackeson and Ramsay" the soldier who'd questioned us ordered two of his men. "You will escort the property, hurry up."

"Yes sir!" they nodded as they reached into the carriage and withdrew a small wooden box, before taking it slowly with them into the house.

"What's in _there_ , then?" The Doctor inquired as the three of us watched it disappear from view.

"Property of the Crown" the soldier told him. "You will dismiss any further thoughts, sir."

He then called out to the rest of his men.

"The rest of you, go to the rear of the house. Assume your designated positions."

 _"Don't go around tonight, well it's bound to take your life_

 _There's a bad moon on the rise"_

As they did so, the three of us walked slowly inside behind the Queen and Robert, the latter of which led us around the house and up to what looked like an astronomy lab, full of scientific equipment which still looked fantastic even for the time.

" _This_ , I take it, is the famous _endeavour_ " Victoria said, as we stopped in front of a giant telescope, which looked _amazing_ , judging by the crafting and the detail.

"All my _father's_ work" Robert told us, taking us closer. "Built by hand, in his final years. Became something of an _obsession_. He spent his money on _this_ , rather than caring for the _house,_ or _himself_."

"I wish I'd _met_ him" the Doctor said. "I _like_ him."

"That thing's _beautiful_ " I complimented. "May we…?"

"Help yourselves" Robert gestured as the three of us went over and examined it more carefully.

"What did he _model_ it on?" The Doctor wondered as he bent down to the viewing lenses while Rose and I looked over the controls on the side.

"I know _nothing_ about it" came Robert's unhelpful response. "To be _honest_ , most of us though him a little..."

" _Eccentric_?" I asked with a laugh as Robert nodded. " _Well,_ he's not the _only_ one here, if _that_ helps."

"I wish _now_ I'd spent more _time_ with him" Robert mused to Victoria as the three of us still gazed around the telescope. "And listened to his _stories_."

"It's a bit _rubbish_ " the Doctor complained, looking directly at the focusing crystal. "How may prisms has it got? _Way_ too many! The magnification's gone _right_ over the top, that's a stupid..."

He broke off when he realised everyone including Rose and myself were staring at him as if to say " _Really?_ ".

"Am I being rude again?" he whispered to the two of us when we came around and were close to hitting him.

"Yep" Rose nodded, as the Doctor immediately changed his tune. "But it's _pretty_! It's very _pretty._ "

"And the _imagination_ of it should be applauded" Victoria added, coming towards us in an awing nature.

"I never took your Majesty for a _star-gazer_ " I boldly said, impressed. "What, with all of the travel and barely getting peace?"

"This device surveys the infinite work of God" she replied. "What could be _finer?_ "

Continuing, she said "Sir Robert's father was an example to us _all._ A polymath, _steeped_ in astronomy and sciences, yet _equally_ well versed in folklore and fairytales."

"Stars _and_ magic" the Doctor and I echoed. "I like him more and _more_."

"Oh, my _late_ husband enjoyed his _company_ " Victoria mused and coming closer to Rose. "Prince Albert himself was acquainted with _many_ rural superstitions, coming as he did from Saxe-Coburg."

"That's Bavaria" the Doctor whispered to Rose and I helpfully while we listened intently.

"When Albert was told about your local _wolf_ , he was _transported_."

"What's this wolf, then?" the Doctor asked Robert, who was now beginning to turn pale.

"It's just a story" Robert replied nonchalantly.

"Then _tell_ it" I urged him with curiosity in both my eyes and the Doctor's.

As we looked more and more at Robert, his fear was becoming more apparent.

He started to speak, but was interrupted by the main "butler" who'd stayed with us.

" _Excuse_ me, _sir_ " he spoke, getting Robert's attention as well as the rest of us. "Perhaps Her Majesty's party could repair to their _rooms_. It's almost _dark_."

Robert still retained his look of fear while he looked away from them, then composed himself. "Of course. _Yes_ , of _course_."

"And then _supper_ " Victoria added as Robert looked on in a twinge of joy. "And could we find some _clothes_ for Miss Tyler? I'm _tired_ of nakedness."

"It's not _amusing_ , _is_ it?" Rose asked, as the Doctor and I glared at her to keep her mouth shut.

When Victoria ignored her, she continued to order Robert. "Your wife must have left some clothes. See to it. We shall dine at seven, and talk some _more_ of this wolf. After _all,_ there _is_ a full moon tonight."

"So there _is_ , ma'am" Robert replied, continuing to show his fear slipping through.

He bowed, then allowed us to lead out of the room, and let the "help" follow us out.

While Rose was led to a bedroom to sort out her clothing changes, I stayed with the Doctor and tried to get him away from everyone else without getting overheard.

In the end, I "accidentally" tripped and asked him to help me find my "credentials".

When he did, I whispered "There's something going _on_ here, and these men are behind it" with a focused look on my face.

"I _know_ " he replied in the same level of quiet as he shared my expression. "We just need to play along until we know more."

"Are they gone?" I asked, still pretending to look for it.

"Yep" the Doctor murmured, looking in the corner of his eye.

"Oh, thank God" I replied, as I made my paper appear in my hand by just rubbing them together and blowing slowly.

"I never knew you were good at magic, Marty" the Doctor said as I put it back in my pocket.

" _Good_ , no" I told him. "Just better than what it seems. Deception is a gift I've used to great effect before I met you. Misdirection is another" I added, as I now made the paper slowly come out of the Doctor's sleeve, before properly keeping it in my pocket. "It's all a case of making sure the details are where you want them to be."

"I'll keep my eyes open, then" he smiled, before we rejoined Victoria and Sir Robert, along with the captain in a dining room.

Sure enough, the ones who were _here_ still continued to serve us, but when it came to the food and drink, I made sure to smell and taste each one cautiously in case there was something in them. I didn't want to end up like what _Jack_ had said.

"Your companion begs an apology, Doctor" the main one told us as he came in carrying a tray. "Her clothing has somewhat delayed her."

"That's alright" the Doctor replied, playing along. "Save her a bit of ham."

"The feral child could probably eat it _raw_ " Victoria added with a smile to which the captain laughed out loud, although he was the _only_ one to do so.

"Very wise, ma'am" he said. "Very witty."

" _Slightly_ witty, perhaps" she told him with her authority being present. "I know you rarely get the chance to dine with me, Captain, but don't get _too_ excited."

Content that she had calmed him down, she finished "I shall _contain_ my wit in case I cause you _further_ injury."

"Yes, ma'am. Sorry, ma'am" the Captain apologised before the Doctor looked down the table and said " _Besides_ , we're all waiting on Sir Robert. _Come_ , sir. You promised us a tale of _nightmares_."

" _Indeed_ " Victoria added. "Since my husband's death, I find myself with more of a _taste_ for supernatural fiction."

"You must miss him" I told her, my food now forgotten and recognising the look in her eyes.

"Very much" she replied, staring right at me and seeing the same look in mine. "All _completely_."

"And that's the _charm_ of a ghost story, isn't it?" she asked all of us, but the Doctor and I most of all. "Not the scares and chills, that's just for children, but the… _hope_ of some contact with the great beyond. We all _want_ some _message_ from that place. It's the Creator's greatest _mystery_ that we're allowed no such consolation. The dead stay _silent_. And we must _wait._ "

I didn't want to tell her how much _truth_ there was to that statement, given that A. It was _royalty_ , and B. She was looking at 2 people who had experienced it first-hand and would do anything to reclaim it.

As the Doctor and I looked on mournfully, Victoria brought us back by saying "But _come_ , begin your _tale_ , Sir Robert. There's a _chill_ in the air, the wind is _howling_ through the eaves. Tell us of _monsters_."

After taking a few seconds to compose himself, Robert began as we watched and listened with genuine intrigue.

"The story goes back 300 years. Every full moon, the _howling_ rings through the valley. Next morning, livestock is found, ripped apart, and… _devoured_."

"Tales like this disguise the work of thieves" the Captain skeptically replied, looking at me for a few seconds. "Steal a _sheep_ , blame a _wolf_ , simple as _that_."

"But sometimes a _child_ goes missing" Robert interjected. "Once in a generation, a boy will _vanish_ from his homestead."

"Are there _descriptions_ of this creature?" the Doctor asked him with a serious look.

"Oh, _yes,_ Doctor" Robert told him, sharing that same look. "Drawings, and wood carvings. And it's not _merely_ a _wolf._ It's _more_ than that. This is a _man_ who _becomes_ an animal."

"A _werewolf_?" I asked with both false joy and legitimate curiosity.

Nodding, Robert still attempted to keep his fear away as he continued. "My father didn't treat it as a story. He said it was _fact_. He even claimed to have _communed_ with the beast, to have learned its _purpose_. I should have _listened_."

As he said these words, the man who had been with us this time started walking towards the window without a prompt.

While I tried to listen to Robert's words about his father's enemies, my hand slowly reached over to my holster and prepared to pull out the revolver.

Just then, we heard the man chanting an incantation in Latin, never faltering from his speech.

I returned to the conversation just in time to hear Robert ask "What if they _turned_ from God and started worshiping the _wolf_?"

"And what if they were with us _right now_?" I asked, reaching the same conclusion as the Doctor.

Immediately, the Captain and I pulled out our weapons and pointed them at the man while Victoria interrogated him "What is the _meaning_ of this?"

"I'm sorry, your Majesty" Robert told her. "They've got my wife."

"Where's _Rose_?" The Doctor demanded at the man who had still not moved. "Where _is_ she?"

Then, knowing that it was futile, he called out to me "Protect the Queen! Sir Robert, with me!" as they left.

"With _pleasure_ " I replied, as the Captain and I slowly approached the man, never moving our guns off of him.

"Tell me, sir" the Captain ordered. "I demand to know your _intention_."

"It's no use trying like that, Captain" I replied, as the man never stopped chanting. "He won't give up his secrets _that_ easily. But like I said _earlier_ , I have ways _around_ that."

"Captain, ma'am" I told the both of them. "I'm sorry in advance."

And before they could comprehend what I meant, I _showed_ them by shooting the man in the knee then pistol-whipped him, before dragging him over to the Doctor's chair and making him sit in front of a rightly shocked pair of "refined" people; the _Queen_ especially.

"I have 5 _more_ bullets in here" I told him, keeping my gun fixed on his back as he looked forward in silence now, and attempted to not let the pain get to him. "Don't make me _use_ them _."_

"I take it, sir, that _you_ halted my train, to bring me here" Victoria accused, even as both she and the Captain disagreed with my methods. _However_ , at least it meant _we_ weren't getting bloodied as a result. _Yet_.

"We've waited _so_ long for one of your journeys to coincide with the moon" the man replied, looking her right in the eyes.

"Then you have waited in _vain_ " Victoria told him, all 3 of us never taking our eyes off him. "After 6 attempts on my life, I am _hardly_ unprepared."

As she said this, she pulled out a single shot revolver from her bag and aimed it at the man.

"Oh, I don't _think_ so, _woman_ " the man scoffed, underestimating her.

"The _correct_ form of address is "Your Majesty"" Victoria scolded, before shooting at his heart.

 _"I hear hurricanes a-blowing_

 _I know the end is coming soon_

 _I fear rivers overflowing_

 _I hear the voice of rage and ruin"_

But before either _she_ or the Captain, who was as shocked as the man was, could end his life, I quickly held up a tray right in front of him to block the bullets and make them ricochet right into the walls.

"What is the _meaning_ of this?" Victoria demanded to me as both she and the Captain realised they were out of shots. "This man has _clearly_ committed _treason_ , and _must_ be made an _example_ of."

" _Believe_ me, Your Majesty" I started, pistol-whipping the man again. "I _know_."

"Then why _spare_ his life?" the Captain asked, confused as the Queen herself as I put my revolver away.

"Who said I was _sparing_ his life?" I asked the pair of them with a dark smile. "I told you that I make sure the _unruly_ ones get their _comeuppance_. _He_ is no exception."

"So, what do you plan on _doing_ with him?" Victoria inquired, as I dragged the semi-conscious man out by his collar.

"He wanted to see the _wolf_ " I replied. "I'm making sure he gets a _front-row-seat_."

While I hefted him up onto my shoulders, I saw Victoria and the Captain go over to a corner of the room and retrieve the box we had seen earlier.

"Downstairs" I told them. "We can meet up with Sir Robert there."

"How do you know he'll be _there_?" the Captain asked, leading the way.

"Because that's where the _Doctor_ will be" I told him, as Victoria stayed far behind me. "And wherever _he_ is, trouble will be right behind him."

And so, step by step, we made our way down a staircase to find not just the Doctor and Sir Robert, but also Rose who had thankfully been freed.

"Your Majesty?" we heard Robert call out.

"Sir Robert" Victoria replied as she now led the 4 of us. "What is happening? We heard such terrible noises."

"It's too dangerous" he told her as I slowly descended too. "But what of Father Angelo? Is _he_ still here?"

"Oh, you mean _this_ one?" I asked him, turning around to show his body still hung over my shoulders, his knee still dripping blood from where we'd been. " _Yep_. _He's_ till here. Not sure _how much_ longer, though, but I plan on making it _very_ short."

"Don't ask" I told everyone else, as the Doctor now ran back in, saying "It's no good. The front door's been boarded shut. _Excuse_ me, your Majesty, but you'll have to leg it out a window."

I didn't realise until he'd finished that sentence that he'd slipped back into his "normal" accent, whereas I was still keeping the Scottish one.

"You try and take her outside" I told the Doctor as I put Angelo down. "I'll try and hold this off."

"With _what_?!" the Doctor exclaimed. "Unless you have any silver bullets..."

He paused, then remembered it was _me_ he was talking to.

"You already _have_ some, don't you?" he asked as I nodded.

"Alright, well, _anyway_. We _need_ to get you out of here, Your Majesty" he gestured, as I held my ground.

While they did, I could hear the wolf's howling grow louder as it approached, and started beating at the door.

It was at _this_ moment Father Angelo started waking up and I moved him closer to the bottom of the stairs.

"Nice of you to join us" I whispered to him as the Doctor and everyone else reappeared. "You're just in time for _dinner_."

While the Doctor told everyone to run and go up the stairs, I stayed down for a few seconds to let this bastard get his "just desserts."

"Marty, come _on_!" Rose yelled from a few flights up.

"Oh, I _will_ " I muttered, before I whistled and said "Here, Fido. Got some nice _meat_ for you."

While the wolf was busy tearing the door apart, I _then_ took my leave and ran up the stairs.

As Angelo's s screams started getting worse before turning silent, I coldly muttered "Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned", before I at last caught up with everyone else.

 _"Don't come around tonight, well it's bound to take your life_

 _There's a bad moon on the rise"_

As everyone including myself kept running through the house and away from the wolf, we knew that it was almost upon us and wouldn't be much longer until it took us.

In the end, I quickly took out my revolver and fired 3 times behind me, hoping that at least one would graze it and would slow it down.

Thankfully, we heard a whimper from the wolf, as its progress was made more hindered.

"Either I hit something _good_ " I told the Doctor, running beside him, "Or I've just made it _angrier_."

"For _our_ sake, I hope it's the _first_ one" the Doctor replied, as he led us down a corridor and into what looked like a library.

As everyone including the Captain, who at this point I was happy had _survived_ the night so far, entered into the library, the Doctor ordered the doors to be barricaded, which he and Robert did so, while Rose and I made sure the windows were also covered.

Victoria and the Captain were still in one corner trying to console one another, although the latter was certainly pissed at Robert's betrayal to her. Either way, we _had_ to stick together to stay alive, otherwise Robert would end up getting a bullet in his back regardless.

When we'd finished piling up everything, the Doctor suddenly whispered "Shh" to all of us, then pointed to the wall as we heard the wolf's howling grow more quiet. "It's stopped."

He quickly leapt up onto the barricade and pressed his ear against the wall, knowing like I did that the wolf was on the other side.

After about a good 30 seconds of us holding our breath, the wolf then left, taking its manners with it.

"It's gone" the Doctor said, turning back to us.

"Listen" Rose said, as we heard silence from outside, followed by the wolf's growling as it patrolled this room, before it moved around to another place.

"Is this the only door?" The Doctor whispered to Robert as the wolf persisted.

"Yes" Robert replied, before fear and realisation set in and he shouted "No!"

Just in time, the pair of them managed to block off the other door in the corner before the wolf again was silent.

"I don't understand" Rose muttered, looking around as Victoria was shaking next to the Captain who had not left her side as _he_ was as scared as _she_ was. "What's stopping it?"

"Something inside this room" I replied, looking at the walls. "But what?"

"What _is_ it?" the Doctor wondered as well. "Why can't it get _in_?"

"It's all my fault, ma'am" Robert told her, rubbing his head as I tried to listen out for the wolf and she and the Captain stared hard at the Doctor and Rose. "It's _all_ my fault."

As she looked at him with a look of almost pity and the Captain looked at him in contempt, Robert continued "I should have sent you away. I _tried_ to suggest something was _wrong_. I thought you might _notice_. Did you think there was nothing _strange_ about my _household_ staff?"

"Aside from the fact that they were _bald_ , _athletic_ and slightly _intimidating_?" I asked him. "They weren't exactly _subtle_ with it."

"I tell you _what_ , ma'am" Rose attempted. "I _bet_ you're not amused _now_."

"You think this is _funny_?" she asked furiously as the Captain broke his silence from trying to understand this _rationally_ and asked us "What in _God's_ name is that _thing_ we just _saw_? That was no creature from _Earth_. That was something else _entirely_."

"Not a skeptic anymore, then?" I asked as the Doctor replied " _You'd_ call it a _werewolf_ , but it's more of a lupine wavelength "Haemovariform"."

And should we trust _you_ , sir?" the Captain and Victoria asked him at the same time. "You who changes your voice so easily?"

"What happened to your _accent_?" Victoria demanded as the Doctor looked on in apology.

"I'll _not_ have it" Victoria told them, as I finished my patrol of the room. " _No,_ sir, not _you,_ not that _thing, none_ of it. This is _**not**_ _my_ world."

A few minutes later, the Doctor examined the carving that was on the door.

"Mistletoe" he muttered in intrigue, before turning around. "Sir Robert, did your _father_ put that there?"

"I don't know. I suppose" Robert muttered, as I tried to keep him away from the captain and Victoria, both of which were livid at what just happened.

"The _other_ door, too" I said, looking up at it. "But a _carving_ wouldn't be enough to stop it."

"I _wonder_..." the Doctor muttered, before he jumped up onto the wall and started licking it.

"Really?" I asked him, as he knew what it was.

"Viscum album, the oil of the mistletoe. It's been worked into the wood like a _varnish_. How _clever_ was your _dad_? I _love_ him!"

"Powerful _stuff_ , mistletoe" the Doctor explained to Rose and subsequently everyone else. " _Bursting_ with vicotoxins."

"And the wolf's allergic to it?" Rose asked.

"It _thinks_ it is" I replied, now getting into it. "The monks _here_ must have had _some_ way of controlling it, so they trained it to avoid it at all costs."

"Nevertheless, that creature won't _give up_ , Doctor" Robert pointed out, "And we _still_ don't possess an actual _weapon_."

"Aside from my gun which could solve this in a matter of seconds" I told him as I lifted it out and reloaded. "But something tells me there's _more_ to this house than it appears, and like it or _not_ , I want to see what that _is_."

"Even if there _is_ something, we don't know _what_ it is" both Robert and the captain replied. "How are we supposed to _find_ it?"

"Oh, your father got all the _brains_ , didn't he?" the Doctor asked him, before Rose countered "Being rude again?"

"Good. I _meant_ that one" he answered, walking to a large curtain. "You want _weapons_? We're in a _library_. _Books_! Greatest _weapons_ in the _world._ This room is the _greatest arsenal_ we could have. _Arm_ yourself!" he called out, tossing us books as we passed them around so everyone could take part.

While Robert and Rose argued about how to counteract the wolf, the Doctor and I were more concerned with the _history_ of the place, until I read through a book and went "Ooh. _Here_ we go" as I happened upon a page with a drawing of Scotland on it. "I think I've got something."

"Look what your old dad found" the Doctor murmured as he lifted the book out of my hands and placed it on a table. "Something fell to _Earth_."

"Spaceship?" Rose guessed, before Robert corrected "Shooting star."

Continuing, he read from the page. "In the year of our Lord 1540, under the reign of King James V, an almighty fire did burn in the pit. That's the Glen of Saint Catherine, just by the monastery."

"But that's 300 _years_ ago" Rose pointed out. "What's it been _waiting_ for?"

"Maybe some part of it survived" I guessed. "A single cell, living that long must have adapted to the generations, going through its hosts like dominoes."

"But why does it want the _throne_?" Robert wondered, as that was the question on everyone's mind now.

"That's what it said" Rose replied. "The Empire of the Wolf."

"Imagine it" the Doctor replied, as he now saw what its true goal was. "The Victorian Age, accelerated. Star-ships and missiles, fueled by coal and driven by steam… Leaving history _devastated_ in its wake."

It was at this point Victoria got up and broke her silence, after not helping with the research, and for remaining quiet through the Doctor's explanations. The Captain, who I'm sorry to say, was now experiencing PTSD, was even more still than he had been _before_ this.

"Sir Robert" she began. "If I am to die here… I would destroy myself, rather than let that creature infect me."

"But that's no matter" she confided. "I ask only that you might find some place of safekeeping for something far older and more precious than myself."

"It's not going to be a _jewel_ , is it?" I asked her.

"As a matter of fact, it _is_ " Victoria replied, as she lifted out a massive diamond out from her bag.

"Oh, Your Majesty" Robert stuttered in awe.

"Is that the Koh-i-Noor?" Rose asked, as we were now gobsmacked by what we were seeing.

"Oh, _yes_ " the Doctor answered, as we walked towards it. "The greatest diamond in the _world_."

"Given to me as the spoils of war" Victoria told us, still holding it proudly. "Perhaps its legend is now coming _true_. It is said whoever _owns_ it must surely _die_."

"Well, that's true of _anything_ if you _wait_ long enough" the Doctor muttered. "Can I?" he asked Victoria cautiously as he held his hand out.

When she _did_ give it to him, he and I examined it like jewelers, while Rose was stunned.

"That is _so_ beautiful" I muttered, as the Doctor held it tight.

"How much is that _worth_?" Rose asked to the Doctor.

"They _say_ , the wages of the entire _planet_ , for a whole _week_ " the Doctor smiled in response.

"Good thing my _mum's_ not here" Rose smirked. "She'd fight the wolf off with her bare _hands_ for that thing."

"And _she'd_ win" the Doctor muttered in appreciation.

However, now Robert and I were on edge.

"Where _is_ the wolf?" Robert quietly asked, as I joined him to listen out for its behaviour. "I don't trust this silence."

"I'm sorry you got caught up in this" I told him, as we passed the captain, who had left us completely at this point and was now fully in shellshock. If _he_ survived after this, it would be a _miracle_. " _Everyone_ here. You didn't _deserve_ this punishment."

"I wish I shared your point" Robert replied, as we still listened out for the wolf. "But this house doesn't need _me_ to carry on its work. If I'm going to face this, I will do it bravely, for Queen and country. But I don't intend to make it back."

"You _have_ to survive" I urged him. "Otherwise this whole thing will be one big unfinished plan."

"Unfinished" we both heard the Doctor echo as he heard not just me, but also Victoria repeat it. "Oh, _yes_! There's a _lot_ of _unfinished_ business in this house. His _father's_ research, and your _husband,_ ma'am, he came here and he sought the perfect diamond. Hold on, hold on. All these separate things, they're not _separate_ at _all_ , they're _connected_. _Oh,_ my head!" he groaned as he struggled to put the pieces together.

"What _if_ his _house_ , it's a trap for _you_ , is that right?" he asked Victoria, who replied "Obviously."

"At least, that's what the wolf _intended_. _But_ , what if there's a _trap_ inside the _trap_?"

"Explain yourself, Doctor" Victoria ordered as Robert and I now listened intently.

"What _if_ his _father_ and your _husband_ weren't just telling each other _stories_? They dared to _imagine_ all this was _true._ And they planned _against_ it."

"So, this whole house is one big mousetrap for the wolf" I muttered in amazement. "Oh, that's _brilliant_."

"But wait" I wondered. "If this is the mousetrap, where's the _food_?"

" _Aside_ from us" I said, as everyone looked at me in a " _Really_?" glance. "I mean, it must be _somewhere_."

"The observatory" the Doctor realised, before we heard a scraping sound from up above.

"It's on the _roof_ , _isn't_ it?" I asked, as the Doctor slowly looked up first.

"Yep" he said, before the glass shattered and the wolf dropped down in front of us.

Thankfully, it was still trying to recover as we rapidly removed the barricades and escaped.

Well, _almost_ everyone escaped. Sadly the captain was too far gone, and didn't see the wolf until it was too late.

As the Doctor closed the doors behind us, we heard his cries become like those of Angelo, before he too fell silent.

"I'm sorry" I called out to his ghost, while we ran away from the wolf. "I'm so sorry."

As we got further and further down the hallway, Rose was starting to slow down with me right behind her.

She stopped and screamed in fear as the wolf was right at my heels.

With not enough time to pull out my revolver, I tackled her to the ground just as the wolf got pelted with a shower of water which stunned it and made it back off, although I didn't make it through unscathed.

A split second before I jumped, its claws ripped at my back and caused it to bleed slightly.

"Are you alright?" The Doctor asked both of us as the lady who'd threw it said "It was mistletoe."

"I think I'm good" Rose replied as she was the first to get back up. "Marty?" she whispered to me.

"Got me in the back" I said, letting him see the injuries, "But I don't think it was deep."

"You okay to go on?" the Doctor wondered as I steadied my hands before getting up slowly.

"I've dealt with _Daleks_ , _Slitheen_ and a whole lot _else_ " I whispered as he helped me back up. "I _know_ I'm good."

"Right" the Doctor replied, as Robert led the way to the observatory.

Eventually, after running back upstairs to where we knew it was and with the wolf in close pursuit, the Doctor burst open the doors to the observatory and let him, Rose and Victoria in first.

"No mistletoe in _here_ cos your father _wanted_ the wolf to get inside" he told Robert. "I just need _time_. Is there any way of barricading this?"

"Do your work, and I'll defend it" he replied.

" _We'll_ defend it" I said, pulling out my revolver. " _Two_ heads will be better than _one_."

As Robert locked the doors behind him after the Doctor said "Good man", we prepared for the worst.

Before that, I held out my hand for Robert to shake.

"It's been a pleasure, Robert" I said, as he took it and I gave him a soldier's hug as a bonus. "But at least you're not alone here."

"Thank you" he replied as we both grabbed a sword from the wall and waited for it to appear.

 _"Hope you got your things together_

 _Hope you are quite prepared to die_

 _Looks like we're in for nasty weather_

 _One eye is taken for an eye"_

"I won't _kill_ it with this" I told him, gesturing to the gun, "But I'll make sure it gets a _limp_ or two on its way in."

"Might as well die _trying_ " he muttered, as we heard it reach the top of the stairs and reach the end of the hall.

"I committed _treason_ for you" Robert told the wolf as we now saw it again. "But _now_ my wife will _remember_ me with _honour_!"

With a yell, the two of us attacked it with everything we had, with my shots hitting its feet and knees and Robert getting a good few swipes in, yelling as we fought back.

During this, my shots were becoming more rare due to the already sustained claw marks, and I felt the wolf's fangs dig into me as it tore me apart with its diminishing strength, making me scream out loud in pain.

Robert was still bleeding badly, but I was the one who took the brunt of it, before we both collapsed in front of the doors, my gun empty and the swords now broken beside us.

In my last moments, I looked over to Robert who had suffered a lot, but at least he was still breathing.

With a sigh, I heard the telescope powered up and the wolf break through the doors, before I felt death come back for me…

 _However_ , _this_ time, I was brought back to life mere _minutes_ after I had died, just like with the Sycorax stabbing me.

As my breath came back to me, I looked over to Robert, who was just as _surprised_ as I was, even though he was still bleeding a lot.

"Connor?" I heard Rose and the Doctor call out from behind me. "Are you alright?"

"Pretty sure you should be asking _him_ that question" I replied with a smile as Robert realised that he hadn't _died_ thanks to me.

"What did you _do_?" Robert gasped as the Doctor went over to him and examined the wounds.

"Remember what I told you about _misdirection_?" I asked the Doctor as he slowly helped Robert up. "Check inside his _pockets_."

Cautiously, the Doctor _did_ , to find that they were full of _mistletoe_.

"When did you do _this_?" the Doctor asked, helping Robert down the hall one step at a time while I got up not unlike Michael Myers.

"When I tried to stabilise myself, I picked up a bit of the mistletoe that had been lying on the floor" I told him, as Rose now helped me. "Then, when I gave you the _hug_ , I made the wolf stay off of you for as much as it _could_. You're _welcome_ , Sir Robert" I told him. "Now, you can tell your wife _in person_ how you helped save the Queen."

"Th-thank you" he wheezed out. "I don't know how I can repay you."

"You don't _need_ to" the Doctor replied kindly. "All that _matters_ is making sure that you're fit to see your wife and that you live to see another day, after I've bandaged you up."

"But where's _Victoria_?" I wondered, as I realised she was nowhere to be seen.

"She's back behind us" Rose answered, as we turned back and saw what remained of the doors, and Victoria standing there with both the fear of God and amazement that she had lived.

"I'm sorry, ma'am" I called back, gasping at my newly-closed wounds. "I should have said something."

" _I_ am glad that ordeal is _no more_ " Victoria replied, as she slowly rejoined us, descending the staircase. " _However_ , thanks to your… _efforts_ , I am inclined to consider a _pardon_ to one of you."

It was at this she turned to Robert, who gasped " _Thank you_ , Your Majesty."

"Do not _presume_ to thank me just _yet_ " she told us. "We shall let this.. _Doctor_ examine and repair your wounds, and then we shall get to _another_ ceremony that deems appropriate for this affair."

"You mean… knighthoods?" I asked at the same time as Rose.

"Perhaps. All that remains is to enjoy what time we have _left_ of this night, before it can proceed."

"No arguments _here_ " the Doctor muttered as we got to the bottom of the staircase and he fixed Robert's wounds as best as he could with the limited supplies lying around the house.

I was trying to remain steady through all of this, even _with_ Rose keeping me grounded.

"Are _you_ ok?" she asked, as the two of us left Robert and the Doctor alone. "I mean, I don't think _anyone_ was expecting you to _survive_ the werewolf attack, never-mind _two_ people."

"I tried to make it attack _me_ as much as it _could_ " I replied, both of us trying to find an empty bedroom. "Plus, I didn't want Robert to die a _martyr_. I wanted him to look his wife in the eyes and say "I made it through hell", with both of them having good lives."

"Well, I'm glad you did that at the cost of your own life, which..." Rose trailed off. "Is either _good_ for everyone, or _bad. Sorry_ " she mumbled. "I'm _still_ not used to it, even though it's _been_ a while."

"I don't _blame_ you" I replied, as we finally found both a bedroom and a bed that looked intact. "Dying isn't a picnic for _me_ either. But I know that it's only going to get _worse_ from here."

"Don't say _that_ " Rose insisted while I managed to lie on the bed with her help. "It'll get _better_. _You'll_ see."

"I hope you're _right_ " I replied, as she found an empty seat in the corner and pulled it towards me. "It's just… I'm still _scared_ of what might happen to me."

" _Why?_ " Rose wondered, looking all over me to find that there wasn't a bit of blood still dripping on me. "You didn't get _bit_ or anything, _did_ you?"

"I don't know if it _bit_ me" I told her, "But it _did_ sink its teeth into my shoulder when it took me apart, so I don't know if _that's_ how it works."

"But there's _another_ thing" I continued, as I took her hand and looked her straight in the eyes. "Call it a bad _feeling_ , but I _knew_ it was going to tear me up."

"How?" came Rose's scared and caring question.

" _Gwyneth_ " I put simply, both of us remembering what she had said to us and how she had ended. "She said _both_ of us had seen the "big bad wolf", and because it was _her_ , I felt _genuinely_ frightened. I mean, I knew about _you_ , because of you scattering the words throughout _time_ and _space_ , but when it came to _me_ , it was like she was staring at _this_ moment, _knowing_ my future led to _right now_."

"Did the wolf say _say_ something to you?" I asked her, suddenly feeling her hand leave mine quickly. "Before he changed?"

"He-he said there was something of the _wolf_ about me" Rose muttered, now scared. "He said "In your eyes, _y_ _ou've_ seen it _too_. There is something of the _wolf_ about you. You burn like the sun, but all I require is the moon."

"After that, that's when he transformed" she added, shuddering. " _God_ , I wish I could get that image out of my head."

"I'm sorry" I whispered, as I took her hand again, more slowly. "But if _I_ end up becoming… _that_ , I want you to show me something that might help me calm down."

"What?"

I asked her to roll up my sleeve where Grace's bracelet was still present and thankfully intact on my arm.

"If and _when_ I _change_ " I said, "I want you to _show_ me this. Grace – the person we met after New Earth - said that it brought her good luck whenever she was working. She _also_ said that it might help soothe the savage beast. I just hope it's more _literal_ than that."

"I'll keep that in mind" Rose smiled, as she kept holding my hand while we both fell asleep soon after.

 _"Don't come around tonight, well it's bound to take your life_

 _There's a bad moon on the rise"_

The next morning, after I was feeling much better from enduring this, I joined Rose who had stayed by my bed all night, and the Doctor, who was waiting downstairs with Sir Robert in a makeshift wheelchair; the latter of which was still looking bad, but had healed enough through the bandages that covered his chest.

"How are you holding up?" I asked him, as I slowly reached out and shook his hand.

"Thanks to your friend here, I'm doing _better_ " Robert responded, as he took the hand and examined it closely.

"Don't _worry_ " I laughed. "No tricks _this_ time. That was a _genuine_ handshake."

I turned to the Doctor who was standing behind Robert's chair and was wheeling it slowly.

"Is that _true_?" I whispered, hoping Robert couldn't hear. "About the injuries?"

" _Well_ , a few bandages _here_ , a bit of the current healing methods _there_ , and he's right as rain" the Doctor smiled back. "I mean, the _marks_ will take time to _heal_ , but..."

He spoke up this time, ensuring that Robert listened.

" _Well_ , that's for the _children_ to ask about" he winked at Robert, who laughed back. "Not many people can say they fought off a _werewolf_ and _lived_ to tell the tale."

"But I couldn't have done it without _your_ help" Robert pointed out, as the Doctor wheeled him towards where Victoria and the rest of her guards were waiting for us. "I would have ended up _dead_ and helpless if not for _you_ 3."

"You can thank us _later_ " the Doctor nodded. "Right now, there's a tiny bit _more_ unfinished business to attend to."

And with that, the 3 of us watched as Victoria emerged with a sword in her hand, ready to carry out the current event.

"Step forward" a guard announced as the Doctor left Robert in his chair, which was quickly claimed by his wife, who smiled as he held her hand on his shoulder.

The Doctor and Rose knelt down slowly in front of Victoria, while I was still a bit stiff and joined them after a few seconds.

"By the power invested in me by the Church and the state, I dub thee Sir Doctor of Tardis" Victoria announced, as all 3 of us smiled in appreciation.

Next was Rose's turn, as she dubbed her "Dame Rose of the Powell Estate."

Finally, she noticed me, and the fact that I was still wearing what remained of my clothes from the wolf's attack. If she showed any disgust towards me, I didn't pick up on it.

Instead, she said "I dub thee Sir Connor of the Highlands", smiling as she finished.

"Something _funny_ , ma'am?" I asked her, as she took in my attire again.

"Not _funny_ " she replied. "Just an _observation_. With your current _wardrobe_ , you fit the lands here most _adequately_ , like William Wallace of times past."

"I'll take that as a compliment" I smiled, as she then told us to stand.

"Many thanks, ma'am" the Doctor thanked her.

"They're _never_ going to believe this back home" Rose chuckled, before the Doctor became serious.

"Your Majesty, you said last night about receiving no message from the great beyond. I think your husband cut that diamond to save your _life_. He's protecting you even _now_ , ma'am, from beyond the grave."

"Indeed" Victoria replied. "Then, you may think on this _also_ , that I am _not_ amused."

" _Yes_ " Rose said at last to the Doctor, before quickly getting silenced by Victoria, who clarified "Not _remotely_ amused. And henceforth, I _banish_ you."

"I'm sorry?" the Doctor and I asked after a few seconds, hoping we'd misheard.

"I have _rewarded_ you, Sirs, and now you are _exiled_ from this empire _, never_ to return."

"I don't know _what_ the three of you are, or _where_ you're from" she added coldly, "But I know that you consort with _stars_ and _magic_ , and think it _fun_. But your world is steeped in _terror_ , and _blasphemy_ , and _death_ , and I will _not_ allow it. You will _leave_ these shores. And you will _reflect_ , I hope, on how you came to stray so far from all that is _good_ , and how much _longer_ you may _survive_ this _terrible_ life. Now _leave_ my world _._ And _never_ return."

As the Doctor and Rose began to leave, I stood my ground for a moment.

"Your Majesty?" I began, as she turned around with malice in her eyes.

" _What_?" she gritted, as the Doctor started to drag me away.

"I have only one request that I hope you grant before we take our leave."

" _Name_ it" she muttered, as the soldiers had raised their guns toward me and caused me to put my arms up.

"Pardon Sir Robert, and _ensure_ that no harm comes to either _him_ , or his family's _legacy_ " I pleaded, looking at both him and his wife. "I ask only _that_ , given that it was _due_ to his family that your _life_ was spared last night. If you agree, I shall join my friends in exile."

" _Please_ , ma'am" Robert added from his chair. "If not for _me_ , do it for my _father_ , and what he left _behind_."

"Very well" Victoria ordered, as the men now put their guns down and I dropped my arms carefully. "It _shall_ be granted. I feel my _husband_ would feel it a great _shame_ to remove such a piece of _history_ , for better or worse."

" _Thank_ you, ma'am" I bowed, as two of the guards led the way out and the three of us followed right behind them.

"So, how are we getting back to the Tardis, then?" Rose asked, when the guards finally left us on the road. "Walking?"

"We _could_ " the Doctor muttered as he looked around the Scottish glens. " _Or_ , we could could try and get a ride from someone. That might be the _quicker_ option."

He turned to me and asked "What do _you_ think _,_ Marty?"

Looking ahead at the stretch of land ahead of us, I replied " _Well_ , _you_ can hitch a ride. I'm gonna go for a _run_ ", finally dropping the Scottish accent.

"Are you _really_ sure you should be doing that?" the Doctor inquired, looking over me for any lingering signs of the wolf. "I mean, you _did_ come back from a _werewolf_ , and we _still_ have no idea how bad it _affected_ you."

"Well, right _now_ , I feel _fine_ " I told him as I started stretching. "Might as well get the _blood_ pumping _somehow_."

" _Alright, alright_ " the Doctor mutter muttered in response. "Whatever keeps you _going_."

I smiled as I finished and looked back at the pair of them.

"What?" Rose asked, not sharing the look.

"How about a _race_?" I laughed. "First one back to the Tardis wins. Me by _running_ , and _you_ on a _cart_ or something."

"And how much is this going to _cost_ me?" the Doctor asked, as he fished out a £10 note from his pocket and handed it to Rose who jumped for joy as she put it in hers. "That's _two_ bets I've lost now. I don't want it to be "third time's the charm" and end up _worse_ off."

"No bets" I reassured him. "Just a clean race from here to the Tardis."

"You're _on_ " Rose replied, as they prepared to find someone.

"Oh, before I _forget_ " the Doctor called out before we set off. "If you take out your key, it'll _glow_ when it's near the Tardis, and also act as a sort of compass to lead you to it. Just so you don'tget _lost_."

"Thanks for the tip" I said, about to start. "3, 2, 1, go!"

On "Go" I sprinted across the glens with as much speed and power as I could, trying to make my way there before the Doctor and Rose could.

As I sped through the hills with what seemed like _ease_ , throughout _all_ of it, I felt my heart becoming _louder_ and l _ouder_ with each step, until it _thundered_ in my ears and it drowned all other noise out. I didn't know if it was the _wolf_ or not affecting me, but either _way_ , I felt like I was _unstoppable_.

I still had to stop and slow _down_ a few times to get my bearings, but even _so_ , I still felt like there wasn't _anything_ to hinder my progress, even as I saw the familiar shape of the Tardis approaching me by the second.

Almost upon it, I saw a cart pulling up nearby and realised the Doctor and Rose must have _actually_ got a ride _after_ all.

With my last bit of stamina and strength, I crossed the last bit of distance and stopped in front of the Tardis doors, catching my breath and pulling out my key.

" _Well_ , I've got to _admit_ , you've _won_ this time, Marty" the Doctor congratulated me, as I held my hands out on the frame. "I never knew you had it _in_ you."

"Neither did _I_ " I muttered, more slowly than usual. "Neither did..."

I didn't finish that sentence, because just as the Doctor got the doors opened, I collapsed, clutching my chest as I felt a heart attack begin to take hold.

"Oh, my God" I heard Rose cry out faintly. "Marty? Can you _hear_ us?"

"It's just as I _thought_ " the Doctor muttered, as they both lifted me in.

" _What_ is?" Rose asked him, and thankfully I could read their lips as my hearing got worse by the second.

"This is _worse_ than what I was hoping" the Doctor answered, as I tried to make myself coherent.

" _Tardis"_ I thought rapidly, hoping she could hear me. _"What the hell happened to me?"_

" _You had a massive heart attack"_ she replied in my mind. _"On a **normal** human, this wouldn't be as serious an issue, but because I'm dealing with **you** , it's like you're the Grinch, for lack of a better comparison. Your heart has expanded more than what it is capable of."_

" _Is there a way around it?"_ I asked, as I felt the Doctor and Rose lift me up carefully and take me somewhere else.

" _Hopefully, yes. I'll let you be able to hear their thoughts to save time on conversation, and also tell them you can communicate back."_

" _Thanks"_ I replied. _"It's better than nothing."_

Suddenly, I heard the Doctor's voice in my head without his external speech being present.

" _Marty, I am **so** sorry this happened to you" _he started. _"I was just telling Rose that the wolf genes need at least a few **centuries** to finally be active, but because it's… **you** , it's accelerated them at a faster rate than usual."_

" _And you think I'm becoming one of them?"_ I asked him, still not sure of where we were going.

" _Did you not think anything was out of the ordinary when you started running? You didn't feel more agile or quicker than usual?"_

" _I mean, I **did** feel like I could take on the **world** , but other than that, no."_

" _That's because the more you ran, the more the wolf DNA was changing you. By the time you arrived back **here** , it was almost taking you over."_

" _I don't feel any different"_ I said, _"Aside from the heart attack, I mean."_

" _Well, it'll start affecting you very soon"_ the Doctor muttered. _"I just don't know how **much** or how **long** it'll take. I mean, a "normal" werewolf would take until the next **full moon** to change. With **you** , I **don't know**."_

" _So, where are you taking me? A medical room?"_

" _Close enough. Haven't used it in ages, but it's better than doing nothing."_

" _What about Rose?"_ I asked him. _"How's she taking this?"_

" _Ask her yourself"_ The Doctor responded, as I now heard his leave, and hers join me.

" _Marty, I'm sorry"_ Rose began, almost in tears. _"Neither of us knew."_

" _ **He** certainly did" _I replied, mentally looking over at the Doctor. _"Just remember what I told you last night. If and when I change, show me the bracelet, and it might calm me down."_

" _I will"_ Rose nodded, as my body lay down on a hospital bed.

" _So, what are you going to do to me?"_ I asked the Doctor. _"Run a few tests on me?"_

" _I'm going to do the best I can to try and get rid of it"_ came his solemn reply. _"Never actually **done**_ _this before, but, first time for everything."_

As he finished, he put a needle in my arm to try and put me to sleep, which I did shortly after, leaving _their_ voices, both mentally and physically, behind.

Inside my _mind_ , however, it wasn't completely lonely.

The Tardis was glad to keep me company throughout how long it felt the Doctor to run his procedures, which turned out to be a few _weeks_ , as she kept telling me each day.

 _That_ was the _good_ news. The _bad_ news was who, or rather _what_ was also there with us.

In my mind, it wasn't always peaches and cream to deal with the time. I still had to deal with the _wolf_ , or at least the mental _presence_ of it, which continually stalked me throughout my memories, both good and bad, determined to make us a whole.

It got so bad that I was essentially in a coma, trying to fight to stay alive in _more_ ways than one, which didn't help when I couldn't fend it off for long.

 _Believe_ me, I tried thinking of as much silver as I could and covering it like it was a gigantic net, or hoping that I was safe in a supposedly impenetrable fortress, but you can't _kill_ an idea, no matter _how_ much you try.

" _It's no use"_ I panted to the Tardis after the trillionth time I'd attempted to outrun it. _"There's no way I can get out of this without him taking me. What am I supposed to do?"_

" _You'll have to **let** it take you" _she sighed, both of us looking at its dark and shadowy figure as it lurked like a second skin, which it technically _was_. _"I don't like this any more than you do, but you can either accept it_ into _yourself, or remain_ here _. There **is** no third option. Maybe there **will** be down the line, but for **now** , you **must** take control of it, before it attempts the same."_

" _Alright"_ I nodded sadly, as I made my way towards it cautiously. _"Anything I need to say or do?"_

" _Just be yourself and remain calm, even if you're dealing with **this**."_

" _I'll try"_ I replied, finally coming face to face with the manifestation of the wolf's psyche.

" _Guess the answer is **yes** " _I told it, looking it straight in the caverns of its eyes. _"I **am** afraid of the big, bad wolf. Thought I could put it off for so long, but you **knew** this was coming, didn't you?"_

The wolf growled in understanding, even though its face showed intense anger and hostility, without the teeth being gnashed.

" _So, how do we do this?"_ I asked, as the wolf held out a blackened paw for me to examine. _"I mean, you already **bit** me, so I thought that was the **end** of it. But, what? In **my** case, we need to make a deal?"_

The wolf nodded, letting me see the paw more closely, where there was blood - or what _looked_ like it – dripping from cuts it had gained.

" _We shake?"_

Again, the wolf nodded, before I slowly inserted my hand into its paw and felt the blood drip out and cover it within a few seconds.

Once it was covered, the wolf howled as it disappeared from view in a blinding light, leaving only the blood behind as evidence it had been there.

" _Is that the end of it?"_ I asked the Tardis, still retaining the blood on my hand. _"This whole "acceptance" deal?"_

" _Yes, Marty"_ she replied, as I now felt the wolf's energy inside start to make its presence known. _"That was a blood oath that the Haemovariform used to convert those they deemed worthy to join their cause. In **your** case, it was literal overkill, as they are just used to having multiple hosts in succession via biting them."_

" _So, does this mean I'll wake up now?"_

" _It does. But never worry. As long as you have people like me, the Doctor and everyone you trust as friends surrounding you, you'll never be alone with this new path."_

" _Thanks"_ I replied with – ironically – a lot of heart. _"That really means a lot to me. I don't know what I'd do without you."_

" _I can think of a few things. But it really **is** time to go now. When you wake up from **this** time, keep yourself centered at all times. When you **change** , use it only as a last resort and do your best to control it. Goodbye for now, Marty" _she finished, as the white inside my head grew even brighter, and I was brought out of it and back into the real world…

* * *

"Marty?" I heard the Doctor ask me in his actual voice as I gasped for breath again and he rushed forward to remove the equipment surrounding my body. "Oh, thank God! I honestly didn't think you'd _make_ it, even though you survived a _Christmas tree_ and getting _stabbed_ by the Sycorax."

"And you thought a _wolf_ would be the end of me?" I chuckled, laying as still as I could in the bed. "You must not _know_ me all that well."

"How are you _feeling_?" he asked, walking over and feeling my head. "You've had me operating on you for _weeks_ on end."

"I _know_ " I replied. "The Tardis kept me _sane_ throughout it, though."

"Did anything… _happen_ in your head?" he wondered, as he now stepped back. "Anything that might explain the _monitors_ going crazy here?"

" _How_ crazy?"

"Crazy enough that I was _seriously_ considering a way to _join_ your mind and find out what was causing it."

"I kept getting chased by the wolf" I explained. "It didn't want to leave me alone without giving me a "goodbye" present."

"Is that why your hand is covered in _blood_?" the Doctor asked me suddenly as I quickly jerked up my elbow to look.

Sure enough, like it was _Nightmare on Elm Street_ , I'd pulled something out of my dreams, only it _wasn't_ a _hat_.

" _Oh, my God_ " I whispered, realising that it was _real_. The wolf _had_ made a deal with me, and I'd accepted it to make that torment end.

"What is it?" the Doctor asked, seeing I had gone as white as a sheet.

"It _tricked_ me" I muttered, struggling to make my rage nonexistent. "It _tricked_ me to escape my mind, and in the end _made_ me a…"

"A werewolf" the Doctor finished, comforting me. "I know. I'm sorry."

Through tears and _insane_ amounts of concentration, I told the Doctor what exactly had happened within my mind all that time.

"There's no _cure_ for this, _is_ there?" I asked him sadly once I'd finished.

"Not unless you either want to break this _deal_ you made with it, or make us create a _paradox_ by killing the wolf before it _started_ " the Doctor answered, the same look on his face. "There's no _official_ cure for it, and _believe_ me, I've _tried_. The second you were in that bed, I didn't stop trying to test as many solutions as I _could_. _Unfortunately_ , none of them worked, so, your _best_ bet is just to _let it be_. I _wish_ there was another way to counter it, Marty. I _really_ do."

"You want to know the _irony_ of _this_?" I wondered, as he raised his eyebrows. "Before _here_ , the _last_ place we helped "straighten out" probably could have helped us."

"Yeah, guess that _is_ ironic" the Doctor muttered in reply, before smirking. "All the diseases in the _universe_ , and we could have cured you if we'd knew _beforehand_."

"Let me guess. We can't go back _there_ either?"

"Again. _Paradoxes_. I don't want the space-time continuum to get messed up _more_ than it has _already_."

"How's _Rose_ been throughout all of this?" I looked up, hopefully. "The only time I heard her voice was when you two _put_ me here."

"She's tried to keep her distance in case you _changed_ in the middle of this, but thankfully you were _sedated_ enough so that nothing happened. She still kept holding onto the bracelet, though."

"You mean Grace's?"

"Yeah. She told me to keep an eye on you and to show you it in case, _you_ know..."

"I forgot who I was. You still _have_ it?"

"Yep. It's in a drawer here somewhere. Give me a minute."

While the Doctor started searching for the bracelet, I suddenly felt like my senses were _amplified_ , even in _bed_. I could see much further out the door and down one of the Tardis' halls, and also _hear_ the Doctor's heartbeats as if he were right next to me and I put my head directly on his chest, even though he was on the other side of the room.

I looked down at my hands, hoping it was just my _senses_ that were currently afflicted.

Thankfully they _weren't_ , but I could feel my chest expand slightly as I breathed more heavily than normal, and saw though my tattered clothes that even though I'd _completely_ shaved, hair had come back much _thicker_ than before.

"Doctor!" I called out in a panicked cry, before I felt the _full_ effects of the transformation kick in and ended up breaking the bed.

With a mighty howl and a lot of groaning, my arms and legs started becoming like what we'd seen from the wolf, ripping through _all_ of what previously remained of my clothes, and my head and body contorted and ended up verbatim, all within a matter of _seconds_.

It was after this that I struggled to gain my balance on the floor, before tripping and ending up hunched over as I slowly looked over and smelt the Doctor's scent a few feet ahead of me.

"Marty" the Doctor whispered to me, as he held up Grace's bracelet after finding it. "Just _look_ at _me. Look_ what I'm _holding_ in my hand."

He said that like he was referring to a _child_ , which in a way he _was_.

I slowly turned my head towards it and recognised what it was, before slowly going over to a mirror and forcing this new form to look right at it.

"You still _there_?" he asked as I kept looking straight at my reflection for a good few minutes.

After I growled softly and nodded, he asked "Are you going to _attack_ me?", holding his hand up and carefully moved around to examine me.

I held my _claws_ up before dropping them right my my sides like a soldier at attention, then shook my head.

" _Good_. Now, just stay _here_ and don't freak _out_ , okay? I'm going to get Rose and _she'll_ help you as well."

I howled quietly as he walked slowly out of the room and left for a few minutes.

" _ **Look** at us" _I thought to the wolf's conscience as we stayed as still as we could and tried not to wreck everything. _"Is this what you **want** us to be? A great mind inside a **beast**? Because this will not work out well if neither of us can accept the other one **equally**. I know you have **your** enemies, but I will also have **mine**. If you agree to help me out and make me transform when I **need** it, as opposed to **wanting** , then this will make our lives much **longer** and **better** as a result. What do you say? No more **bullshit** , no more **false deals**. **This** time, I want to work with you as a **partner** , not enemies."_

The wolf then lifted up our claw over to its chest, then pointed at our heart, before raising it upwards. I understood, smiling internally.

" _Cross my heart and hope to die"_ I chuckled. _"Yep, that works, I guess."_

It was at this point, we heard the Doctor and Rose at the door and we turned our head towards it.

"Marty?" Rose called out, scared as they approached. "The Doctor told me what happened, and he wanted to let me _help_ you."

I raised my claw up, then made a beckoning motion like "Come on in."

The two of them cautiously stepped in front of me, but making a safe distance.

"Can you _understand_ us?" Rose wondered as I nodded in response.

"Oh, he _can_ " the Doctor muttered, taking out the sonic screwdriver and scanning me. "I'm just worried about his _control_ over it. Marty, I told you I spent a lot of time trying to find a way to cure this, or at the very least give you a way to _moderate_ it. But what you've done threw all of that out the _window_. I'm not saying it's _your_ fault, but this _has_ put a wrench in the works. For _now_ , can you _actively_ control yourself? Like, the wolf _isn't_ being the driver?"

I growled and nodded in reply, before sniffing the air and noticing a scent that came from another part of the Tardis.

"Are you _hungry_?" Rose asked me, as she too looked for the smell.

I nodded, before the two of them backed away carefully.

Before they could talk, I pointed my claw at them, then put it up to my ears, then finally my mouth.

"What's he saying?" Rose asked, before the Doctor answered "He's saying he can hear us, even if we whisper. That might be a _good_ thing, or a _bad_ thing, depending on how much we're _dealing_ with."

"Should we get him some _food_ , then?" Rose asked, both of them exchanging a look. "I don't know what you'd _give_ an alien werewolf."

I saw the Doctor think for a moment, then say "I've got it. Just try and keep him company while I find it."

" _What_?!" Rose exclaimed, as the Doctor handed her Grace's bracelet. "You can't be _serious_!"

" _Trust_ me on this" he replied, his voice echoing down the hall as he ran. "I _know_ what I'm doing!"

I saw Rose then turn back to me, clutching Grace's bracelet in her hand.

"Marty, I remember what you _told_ me" she whispered, as she walked slowly towards me. "You said if I _showed_ you this, it might calm you _down_. I just hope it _works_."

I held out my claw to let her place it in so I could hold it tight.

When she did, I gripped her other hand with as much care as I could, and made her look into my eyes.

"Y-You won't eat _me_ , _will_ you?" Rose whimpered as I slowly shook my head.

Instead, I opened up my arms and made a hugging motion, which she reluctantly returned.

"I'm _so_ sorry you're like this" she cried into me. "I just wish there was a way to _help_ you."

" _I know"_ I thought to her, as I tried to dry her tears, trying not to bark and make her run away in fear.

Just then, it hit me, and I immediately called out to the Tardis in my head.

" _I've an idea"_ I told her, inching away from Rose as we broke contact. _"I can still communicate with them telepathically as the wolf, so they won't think I'm a threat. That might **work** , right?"_

" _I've never done this in a case like **yours** , but I guess it's worth a **shot** " _the Tardis replied. _"Try thinking something to Rose now."_

" _Rose, can you hear me?"_ I asked, as she looked up at me in comprehension.

"Marty? Did you just _talk_?" she asked in response, scared at what was happening.

" _Yes and no. I asked the Tardis if it was possible to communicate my thoughts to you two as **this** me, and she said it **was**. So now, I have a way to talk to you even when I **can't**."_

"Oh, I'm _so_ glad" she cried out, as I comforted her. "I really thought you were _gone_."

" _So did I"_ I muttered, before looking down at her in sadness. _"I just wanted you to know that it wasn't your fault. **I** brought this on myself. All that matters is I have you two to back me up if things ever get **this** bad again."_

"So, how are you feeling?" Rose asked when she recovered from that.

" _Hungry, for **one** thing. Not to mention I want to have another **run** after this, to properly stretch my legs, so to speak."_

"Well, the hunger will be the _Doctor's_ problem" Rose laughed, as she playfully hit me in the chest. "As for running..."

" _I can't run anywhere without making a literal spectacle of myself"_ I replied. _"I gathered."_

"Speaking _of_ the Doctor..." Rose wondered. "Where _is_ he?"

"Right here!" we heard him yell from the hall as he ran down and back towards us.

He stopped when he arrived at the door, catching his breath.

"Sorry I'm _late_ " the Doctor replied, as he held up what looked like an MRE. "I tried to find this in the _kitchen_ , but in the end, I had to go _dumpster diving_ essentially. Found it under a lot of _other_ food that I _wish_ I had thrown away sooner."

"So, what _is_ it?" Rose asked, as the Doctor opened it and let me smell it.

It smelt like – honestly – a real version of the 3 course dinner gum from _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ , only more "beefed up", no pun intended.

"Intergalactic rations off of Orion Minor" the Doctor explained to the both of us. "Makes a whole _month's_ amount of food feel like one whole meal. Perfect for anyone who's got a… ahem, _lasting_ appetite such as yours. I've got a whole lot _more_ in stock for you, Marty. Just say _when_ and I'll give you them."

" _Thanks"_ I replied, lifting it slowly and gulping it down in one swallow.

Instantly, I could feel the food filling me up almost completely, until I was satisfied.

" _You haven't any **water** to go along with this?" _I joked to him as Rose went presumably back to her room to avoid me. _"I mean, I might end up drinking out of the swimming pool at this rate."_

"Luckily for _you_ , there's a water fountain down one of the halls leading to a garden" the Doctor replied, leading the way to it with me having to hunch over like Quasimodo. "Barely been used on account of… _redecorating_ , but in _your_ case, I'll make an exception."

" _Thanks"_ I replied, as the two of us began to make it work again. Him with the sonic screwdriver, and me with sheer strength.

"You feel better now?" came the Doctor's concerned expression as water flowed out and I took a massive drink from it.

" _A little"_ I answered, once I'd finally cleared my head and gulped as much water as I could. _"You know how long it'll be before I revert?"_

"Back to human form? I'd say a few hours, give or take" the Doctor responded, as he stepped back to give me some room, scratching his head. "If you want somewhere to sleep in the meantime, I'm sure I can find somewhere fitting for you."

" _Is there an observatory here?"_ I inquired, feeling my body shake with every step. _"I mean, given what we went through, it seems ironic, but at least this way, I'll be able to keep an eye or two on lunar activity and make it act as a second home, more or less."_

"Yeah. There _is_ one" the Doctor muttered sadly, again leading the way. "I just haven't _been_ there in ages."

" _Who did you have with you? Susan?"_ I asked him cautiously, before he slowly nodded.

" _Yeah_. Been meaning to keep _track_ of her ever since we parted ways. _Hell_ , been meaning to visit a _lot_ of people I've met, even if it's just watching from the _shadows_."

" _I can relate"_ I said. _"It's the reason I haven't actually gone **Back to the Future** with my parents. I want to say **hi** , but I know that I'll end up changing things for the **worse** if I directly interfere."_

"Glad we've agreed on _one_ thing, at least" the Doctor smiled, before we arrived at a set of ornate wooden doors. "Well, here we go" he sighed, pushing them open so we could see the contents.

In it was a giant telescope like what we'd seen in Sir Robert's house, only this one was more high tech and full of more controls than I could have thought. Along the walls were shelves full of jars with dozens of specimens inside, both alien and Earth geology alike.

A fold-out sofa-bed lay in the corner, nearby where the viewing lens was for the telescope, next to a heavy manual pull switch that you'd see for a fire alarm.

" _What does that do?"_ I asked the Doctor, slowly pointing at it.

"I'll show you" he replied, running over and pulling down as much as he could.

"A little _help_ " he grunted, as I joined him and made the job look easy.

" _Was that on account of **me** , or was it rusty?" _I teased, as the switch took effect after a few seconds.

The Doctor's answer was soon drowned out by what the switch had done, as it caused the roof of the room to split apart and recede into itself like Wimbledon, leaving a brighter array of constellations to shine through and make it feel like we were in a planetarium, which, given the _Tardis_ , wasn't that _big_ of a stretch.

" _Are they real?"_ I wondered, as we saw a shooting star stream past, _"Or is this just a hologram?"_

" _No._ It's _real_ , alright" the Doctor said, pointing to the outskirts of the roof. "This room has a high-density oxygen filter that protects the user when in use, either closed or open, _and_ it's protected against the _worst_ disasters prone to interstellar travel. _Trust_ me. I know _first-hand_ what that's like."

" _Is this where you came to admire the universe from afar?"_

"Yeah. But I always felt the "up close and personal" approach was better than _longing_ for it. That's why I _left_ Gallifrey, to find out _in person_ just _how_ history became the way it _is_. It's because of _you_ and others like _Rose_ that I began to appreciate the _beauty_ of it, even though _most_ of it _disagreed_ with me."

" _But you still made **peace** " _I pointed out. _"Even if you didn't know it at the time."_

" _True_ " the Doctor nodded, as I began to lie close to the sofa like a dog, which I practically _was_.

"You want me to leave you _alone_?" he asked, as I tried to get to sleep. "I mean, we _still_ don't know if you're going to… _lash out_ or anything."

" _Just give me as much time as I need"_ I replied sleepily. _"And also try and stock up on more of those rations. I have a feeling I'll **need** them a lot."_

"Will do. Sleep tight, Marty" the Doctor whispered as he walked out quietly and closed the doors behind him.

I felt my strength as the wolf diminish as more and more sleep took a hold of me, until at last I woke up in pain, returning to my usual self piece by piece.

" _Fuck_ " I muttered shakily, trying to readjust my vision as I got back up after that ordeal. "I feel like I've just had the _worst_ fucking _hangover_ and there's no _easy_ cure."

"Nice of you to come back"the Tardis replied, my legs still uneasy. "Even if you **are** under-clothed."

"Thanks" I blushed, remembering that with _this_ , it wasn't like the Hulk where Bruce Banner kept _some_ form of clothes on him after switching back. With _my_ transformation, it was literally _all or nothing_.

"You want me to tell him you're back to normal?"she asked me, as I tried to cover myself with anything I could find in the room.

"In a bit" I told her, once I'd finally found a blanket to wrap around me. "For _now_ , I just want _clothes_."

"Can't argue with _that_ " she laughed as I left the observatory and headed back to my room.

Once there, I quickly changed into whatever I could find. I didn't _care_ about coordination at this point. I just wanted to feel _better_ from this.

When I'd finally finished, I asked the Tardis "Is it possible you could either move my room right next to the observatory, or at the very least make it an "en-suite" deal, so I don't have to sprint about a mile?"

"I can _do_ that" she replied happily. "Just go and find the Doctor. I'll have it sorted by the time you get back here."

"I appreciate it" I smiled, searching for him until at last I found him back at the console.

" _Ah_ " he sighed as he saw me again. "So, you feeling any _better_ after that?"

"I don't know about _better_ , but I'm feeling _something_ " I said. "But on the _bright_ side, I think I have a way to _control_ it."

" _Really_?" the Doctor asked, pulling out the sonic screwdriver and scanning me again. " _How_?"

"Well, I don't know for _sure_ if I can _control_ it" I clarified once he'd finished. "But when you left to find Rose to look at me, I sort of made a _proper_ deal in my head with the wolf. I told it that if _it_ helped _me_ , _I'd_ help _it_. Both of us being _partners_ , not _enemies_. Not sure if it'll _honour_ that deal, but it's a _start_ , at least. For _now_ , with _all_ of us, it's baby steps."

"I _know_ " the Doctor muttered as he put his arm around me. "If you _do_ end up controlling it, remember to know who your _friends_ are, and who your _enemies_ are. I _mean_ , a _wolf's_ mind is completely _different_ from a _human's_. All _they_ know about is _pride_ and _territory_. Anything _else_ is free for the _taking_."

"I'll keep that in _mind_ " I nodded. "Well, _minds_ , in _this_ case."

"You still want to _travel_ with me, then?" the Doctor asked cautiously, as we both sat down on the seats. "I mean, it might be _much_ worse in the future for you."

"I've seen the world _end_ on more than _one_ occasion" I answered. "And _died_ and _came back to life **5 times now**_ , so… what _else_ can be _worse_ for me? _Besides_ … maybe I was _meant_ to be a werewolf. It may end up _helping_ people if we're lucky."

"You and I have a _very_ different _understanding_ of how luck _works_ " the Doctor laughed in reply. "But _really_. If you _can_ control it, try and keep it to your _normal_ side. If you _can't_ , well, I'll try and do my _best_ to help you. You good with that?"

"Yeah. That works for me" I said. "One thing, though" I added, speaking to both him and the Tardis. "If we _do_ go somewhere that needs us, try and make sure it's not near a _full moon_. If I _am_ affected a lot by it, I want to keep a low profile and stay out of business."

"Fair enough" the Doctor nodded as the Tardis concurred with him. "We'll try and spend as much time as we _can_ to _focus_ it on your human side. After _that_ , _then_ we'll head off somewhere else."

"Fine by me" I sighed, knowing we'd finished that conversation. After that, I waved to him as I walked back to my new "joined" room and lay down on the bed.

"Just when I thought my sleep schedule was _already_ fucked up" I grumbled, not closing my eyes and just contemplating what do about this situation.

Eventually, I thought I'd do some meditation to calm my centre, which kept me stable until it was time to actually get some rest and make the future that much less intolerable.

With my eyes now _properly_ closing, I faded off to sleep, both myself and my "partner" still uneasy about the other's presence...

 _"Don't come around tonight, well it's bound to take your life_

 _There's a bad moon on the rise"_

 **A/N 2 - Well, that was certainly a piece to write. Yep. From now on, Marty will be a werewolf, but the question remains to be seen about how he can control it, and whether it will make his life better or worse.**

 **Next time, we go back to school and meet a few old and familiar faces, which may or may not have been impacted by history. Until then, thanks for reading!**


	4. School Days

**Of Time, Space and Beyond Humanity Volume 2**

 _After gaining my new "ability", my life has changed in ways I thought were impossible. Little did I realise that immortality was the first of my problems, and that I'd become more than just a man..._

 **AN 1 - I am so sorry this took so long to make. Yeah. Laziness is strong with me, but ironically time was on my side, as you will soon see below.**

 **I hope to make the gap between chapters much shorter this time around, but there's as much chance of that happening as there is a Firefly Season 2. Ok, maybe not that drastic, but the next chapter after this, I plan to write very soon. Just try and stay tuned. If not, well, "I'm only human, after all."**

 **In the last chapter, Marty got bit by the werewolf attacking Queen Victoria and subsequently became the next domino to fall. This chapter, we learn how he's coped, or at least attempted, and what that means for everyone else. Including someone from not just the Doctor's history, but Marty's own...**

It took about 6 months before I had taken control of the wolf and our transformation. Well, 5 months for _the Doctor_ , that is.

For me, 600 years passed. 600 years of Hell. The Tardis had been gracious enough to give my own private time bubble, which meant that while the Doctor and Rose felt like fairly no time had passed, inside I was trying to control it with every bit of strength I had.

On the bright side, my bubble extended not only around me, but areas in the Tardis that I visited, such as the library and the exercise rooms. This helped a lot during both of our "sessions", as I felt stronger and faster with each day that passed, and with every moment, the wolf and I became that much more in tune with another. At least we wouldn't be fighting a lot, or at the very least self-harming.

Plus, this gave me a lot of time to watch as many shows and movies as I wanted, to read almost every book in the library twice - which contained a variety of subjects I even took to heart – and even allowed myself to pursue a number of hobbies to keep myself occupied. By the time I'd finished keeping the split between us equal, there was hardly a room empty thanks to my efforts. Not to mention, every second, I wore Grace's bracelet as a reminder that I could still fight through this and make myself a better person.

But this whole thing came at a cost not only to myself, but the Doctor and Rose. For their version of six months, all they could hear was the sound of my screaming echoing through the Tardis as I switched between forms in my attempt to make us the same. The Tardis had tried to make my bubble soundproof, but the wolf was almost too much for Rose to take, even pushing her to the brink of tears as a result.

After that, the Doctor took her to a planet that helped in therapy to combat the noise, where they managed to stay for the remainder of their last 2 weeks before I conquered my other half and gained her trust again.

That wasn't even the worst of it. Jack had tried calling me and leaving messages because he'd heard about Queen Vic and Torchwood's founding and hoped I'd give him some answers. I couldn't tell him about my condition, not yet at least. I had to wait until I was comfortable with it myself. Even if it took over half a millennium to overcome it.

When all was said and done, then the Doctor finally told me he'd got something interesting on the Tardis' scanners. At last it was something all 3 of us could attend, even after my "house arrest".

"How are you feeling?" the Doctor asked me as I approached the console after so long. "Are you able to control it now?"

"Yeah" I sighed, looking at both his face and Rose's, the latter of whom was almost in hysterics after my performances. "600 years does wonders for the mind and body. Even if it brings others down with you."

"I'm really sorry you had to suffer" I told Rose, who had backed away from me and was clutching the Doctor's suit like he was her parent. "I honestly didn't think it would be this bad for everyone, you worst of all."

"I-Is it over for you?" Rose stuttered, breathing a bit fast. "O-Other than the whole first night as a wolf?"

"What do you want me to say?" I asked her as I sat down on a chair while she moved to the other side of the console to avoid me. "That the first 100 years were the worst, or that it took until the halfway mark before the pain became a numb tingle? Or the fact that after 600 years, I still feel like there's more I can do, even after seemingly mastering it?"

"Marty, calm down" the Doctor assured me, as I didn't notice I was becoming slightly angry throughout my speech. "Take a deep breath and keep calm. We're on your side. We're just trying to help."

"Sorry" I replied, before slowly getting back up. "Just a bit hard to keep emotions bottled up for that amount of time. I'll do my best to keep them in check."

"Thank you" came the Doctor's pleased response, before he motioned us to the monitor and asked us to take a look.

"Deffery Vale High School."

"What about it?" Rose asked, as we saw a normal high school with pictures of the students bustling about.

" _Well_ , according to Mickey, it's been the sight of alien activity the past few months" the Doctor replied, pulling up a grainy picture of a UFO hovering over the school, before showing us the results of the students. "Ever since that sighting and many others, the results have been through the roof."

"And?" I wondered.

" _And_ , where are these results _coming from_?" the Doctor countered, as he now presented us with the school results _prior_ to the sighting. "See the connection?"

"So, something here is making the kids smarter" Rose said. "What? Better teachers, or…?"

"I don't _know_ " the Doctor grinned, setting the controls. "But I intend to _find out_."

* * *

2 days later, after they'd got settled into their roles with Rose being a dinner lady and the Doctor a teacher, I went _Good Will Hunting_ and became a cleaner to patrol the outside in case of any behaviour _there_.

Didn't come across anything _alien_ , aside from a few spillages which might as _well_ have been, given how much of a rainbow palate I had to clean up, but other than that and telling the occasional kid off for smoking or drinking on school grounds, nothing bizarre.

At least if I was _outside_ , my senses weren't going haywire. My _hearing_ especially, given how much the bell would hurt me if I didn't protect my ears.

The first day we began the operation, before we'd left the Tardis, I got all 3 of us together to hand out the tools I'd prepared to help with the infiltration.

* * *

" _Why aren't we out there yet?" Rose asked me impatiently. "My shift starts in 10 minutes."_

" _I wanted to give all of us something which will make this easier" I replied, as the Doctor looked on with interest. "Think of me as your own version of Q from James Bond."_

" _And what exactly did you make for us, then?" he wondered, as I reached behind me and took out a case in a similar size to my gun case and opened it, revealing the contents._

" _For Rose, a set of neural contacts" I said, lifting out a container for them. "You put them on, and your eyes will be linked to the Tardis, meaning that whatever you see, we see."_

" _What's so special about them, aside from that?" she asked, putting it in her pocket._

" _There's high class lipreading software in them" I explained, "Which means if something is inaudible, it'll pick up the mouth movements and translate it back here."_

" _Oh, and to start them, just think the word "open" and to stop them, think "close". Just in case you want to keep things a bit private."_

" _I'll keep that in mind" Rose replied, before I turned to the Doctor._

" _For you, seeing how you like your glasses, I made you a special set" I told him, as he lifted them out of the case slowly._

 _They were a black pair of ordinary glasses, except they had a few hidden extras in them._

" _What's this in the bridge?" he asked, looking directly at them. "Is that a camera?"_

" _Yep" I answered, pointing to it. "Same function as the contacts, only yours are a bit more…flexible…"_

" _What's more" I added, taking them out of his hands and showing him the legs, where a small silver lining was present on each side, "Microphones and earpieces, in case you want to communicate with me and vice versa. Just tap twice on either side to enable them."_

" _And how am I supposed to do that?" he asked, as Rose looked on in amazement._

" _I'm glad you asked" I told him, revealing my third piece of equipment in the case, which was revealed to be a small Casio digital watch that wouldn't look out of place in an Argos catalog._

" _Looks normal enough on the surface" I said, putting it on and showing the pair of them its features. "But, under all of that, I've added my own attachments. The display itself functions as a thumbprint sensor which only I can access. I just hold my thumb to the screen for a few seconds and then press any of the 4 buttons to activate their effects."_

" _Which are?" The Doctor inquired as Rose looked ready to leave._

" _The adjust button activates the microphone built in to it. Same as your glasses but this is more portable. The mode button acts as a dummy, where it pops out and allows me to connect my earphones into the hole, so people are only hearing 1 side, as opposed to 2."_

" _And what about the other 2?" came Rose's angry questioning._

" _See, that's the fun bit" I smiled. "The light button turns it into a smoke bomb, while the 12/24 button allows me to change the length of the "fuse". Perfect if I need to get away from someone."_

" _Don't give me that look" I firmly told the Doctor, who'd scoffed after "smoke bomb". "It's in case we get found out, which – with our luck – is extremely certain. I just need something I can use as a distraction. It won't hurt anyone. Just give me a window of opportunity to get away from them."_

" _You know what? Fine" the Doctor replied, seeing that I was right and he'd want to see what would happen with this regardless. "But you don't kill anyone. That's my rule. Understand?"_

" _Fine..." I muttered, before all 3 of us went our separate ways into the school._

* * *

I kept my earphones from my iPod in to make it look like I was listening to music while working but was really hearing the Doctor's side and protecting myself in case I turned deaf as a result.

During the cleaning of a particularly bad mess involving a football, I picked up someone talking to the Doctor who I thought was _long_ since gone, and tried not to cry when I heard their voice during their conversation.

"John Smith! I used to have a friend who sometimes went by that name."

"Well, it's a very common name" the Doctor replied with a smile, and I could hear the sadness and joy in his voice as I recognised the voice.

"He was a very… _uncommon_ man" the voice told him, before saying "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet _you_ " came the Doctor's ironic schoolboy nervousness. "Yes, _very_ nice. _More_ than _nice_. _Brilliant_."

"So, have you worked here _long_?" the voice asked, as I tried to cover up my emerging tears by cleaning up the messes around me.

"No, um, it's only my second day" the Doctor said, again with the being nervous.

"Oh, you're _new_ , then. So, what do you think of the _school_?" they wondered. "I mean, this new _curriculum_? So many children getting _ill_. Doesn't that strike you as _odd_?"

"You don't _sound_ like someone just doing a profile" the Doctor whispered to them.

"Well, no harm in a little _investigation_ while I'm here" they replied, before their footsteps receded.

"No. Good for _you_ " the Doctor proudly stated as I could hear _his_ tears beginning to form with his next sentence. "Good for _you._ Oh, good for _you_ , Sarah Jane Smith."

Making sure that no-one could see or hear me, I muttered "You realise I just heard what you said to her, right?" into the watch.

I guess the Doctor must have pieced it together, because I heard him cough twice, which was his signal for "I've got company".

"Nothing out of the ordinary here" I continued, hearing the bell ring as school finished and the students made their way out to the buses. "Meet you back at the Tardis."

The Doctor coughed once more for "Okay" before we broke communications and ended our "jobs" for the day.

Once back at the Tardis, we filled each other in on what we had found.

Mickey was the first to talk, saying "I told Rose earlier that there were sightings all about this place, 'cause I got into the Army records."

"And?" The Doctor inquired, as Mickey replied "There was something blocking me from getting into them, like they were kept under wraps. Don't know _what_ , but I know it's _weird_."

"Weird is our middle name" I chuckled, before adding that I'd seen a few trucks offloading barrels into the school, but thought it was nothing to write home about.

"Were these barrels white and in a single mobile trolley?" Rose wondered, looking at me.

"Yeah. Why?" I asked.

"Cause I saw one of them being loaded into the canteen kitchen" she replied, then said about one of the dinnerladies who'd got whatever was spilled onto her, where she was "taken care of" by the rest of them.

"I tried to call an ambulance, but one of them insisted she was _fine_ " Rose muttered, adding that she'd heard the lady scream and then produce smoke a few seconds later.

"I _wonder_..." the Doctor muttered, seemingly lost in thought.

"What is it?" all 3 of us asked in unison.

"I have a _feeling_ about whatever we're facing inside that school" he said, jumping off his seat that he'd previously been sitting on. "Trouble _is_ , we can't go looking when the school is _active_."

"So, we're going in at _night_?" Mickey asked with a smile. "Oh, _yes._ I've _always_ wanted to do that."

"Same here" Rose added. "I used to try and stay behind after school to catch them off guard. Always got caught, but I never stopped trying."

"Marty?" The Doctor asked, turning to face me. " _You_ ok with this?"

"Why _wouldn't_ I be?" I countered. "I mean, aside from my… " _condition_ ", I'm fine."

"I hope you're _right_ " Mickey muttered, as I remembered that on the first day of this "operation", I'd had to explain to him about "Uncle Remus", and he took it as well as you'd expect. Took a few hours before he was able to come around to the idea, but he was still on edge about it, and had tried to stay away as best he could.

"Besides" I told the trio, "You had me at "UFO sighting", and I'm not gonna pass _that_ up."

"Glad to see you haven't changed _that_ much" the Doctor replied with a smirk. "Alright. Time to join the night classes."

And with that, he set the controls for the Tardis so we arrived at night when the cleaners were all gone, and landed in a storage cupboard for the PE department.

As we exited the Tardis and listened for the sound of any stragglers, the Doctor led the way through the hallway, where we found ourselves at a staircase.

"It's _weird_ being in school at night" Rose smiled, as we approached the bottom of it. "It just feels _wrong_. When I was a kid, I used to think all the teachers _slept_ in school."

"Hiya, team" the Doctor said, almost echoing through the shell of the school.

"Don't say "team"" I replied with a groan. "Just say "friends" or "people". That'll make it a _lot_ easier."

"Yeah, I was just _thinking_ that" the Doctor muttered, before giving the orders. "Rose, go to the kitchen and get a sample of that oil. Mickey, the new teachers are all _maths_ teachers, check the maths department. As for me and Marty, we're going to check out Finch's office. Meet back here in ten minutes."

"Alright, then" I nodded, setting off with him upstairs. "That works for me."

"I thought it would" the Doctor concurred, leading the way.

"So, why _did_ you want me here with you?" I wondered, catching up to him. "Is it because of my new abilities, or…?"

"It's _because_ " the Doctor muttered, rounding a corner close to the staff offices "I _know_ you heard what I said earlier to Sarah Jane, and what _she_ said to _me_. I'm just so happy to know that she made it through _everything_ I showed her. But even so, she's a constant reminder of why my life is so _hectic_. I'm telling you _now_ , because I _**know**_ _you'll_ be going through the _same thing_ in the future. Sarah is an example of what, or rather _who_ you'll leave behind as you live your life. Same as Jo, same as Nyssa, same as…"

He looked down in a faint look of despair. "Same as Adric and Susan."

"I'm sorry" I muttered, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"So am I" he replied, before snapping quickly out of it. "Come on. Let's find out what Finch is like..."

We'd turned another hallway, when we heard screeching in the distance.

The Doctor ran forwards to investigate, but I held him back slightly.

"What is it?" he whispered, as my ears picked up the sound but much louder.

"I'm hearing multiple hearts" I said, focusing on their beatings and putting my hand on the wall to feel the vibrations. "More than 10, at least."

"Where?"

"Where do you think?" I asked, pointing down a corridor near where Finch's office was.

Again, the Doctor ran towards it, but was soon sidetracked by me picking up more screeching down another corridor, which he followed suit behind.

Soon, we both heard the sound of boots running through the school, and the Doctor stopped me in my tracks.

"What are you doing?" I asked, as I realised we'd run almost back to the Tardis.

"Stay here" he ordered, before turning around. "I'd know _those_ boots anywhere."

"Alright" I replied, before he walked calmly over to the door we'd used to get into the school and made his way inside the gym.

He'd told me to stay, but I couldn't resist a peek at what was going on inside.

I heard enough of their speech where the Doctor said "Everyone died, Sarah. They all died."

"I still can't believe it's you" Sarah replied, before I heard Mickey's scream almost pierce my ears due to the pitch of it.

"Ok, now I _can_ " she corrected, before I heard the two of them run towards me and I opened the door to let them out.

"Did you hear that?" we heard Rose ask as we met back up.

" _W_ _ho_ are you?" Rose asked Sarah Jane, angry that the Doctor had now found someone else.

"Sarah Jane, Rose and Marty. Rose, Sarah Jane" the Doctor introduced us.

"Nice to meet you" Sara replied, shaking her hand before turning to me in confusion. "Do I know you? Because I know I've seen you somewhere before. I probably know who you are, I just don't know when."

"Maybe I just have one of those faces" I smiled, before Sarah remarked "I can tell you're getting older, your assistants are getting younger."

"I'm not his _assistant_ " Rose fumed, not budging an inch.

"Can we do this _another_ time?" I asked, as the Doctor and I led the way to where Mickey was, which turned out to be a closet full of rats in bags.

"Sorry, it's only me" Mickey huffed, picking some of them up. "You told me to investigate, so I started looking through some of these cupboards and they all fell out."

"Oh, my God, they're _rats_ " Rose muttered, as the Doctor and I examined them closely. "Dozens of _rats. Vacuum packed rats._ "

"And you decided to _scream_?" the Doctor teased Mickey, as I started picking at the packaging of one of them. "Like a little _girl_?"

"It was _dark_ " Mickey protested. "I was covered in rats."

"Nine, maybe 10 years old" the Doctor added. "I'm seeing pigtails, frilly skirt."

"Marty, what are you _doing_?" Rose asked, as I finally lifted the packaging off the one I had been picking at and smelt it.

"Finding out how long they've been here for" I replied, as everyone else looked on in rightful disgust and sickness. "I'd say about 3 months, at least, so they were brought in along with _these_ guys."

"Do you _have_ to do that _now_?" The Doctor asked me, while everyone backed away slowly.

"What can I _say_?" I told him. "My appetite's not what it _used_ to be. Besides, I wasn't _that_ big a fan of the school chips. They didn't smell _right_ to me."

"That makes _two_ of us" he replied, trying to break up the conversation. " _Anyway_. This all started when Mr. Finch arrived. We need to head up to his office and check it out."

"You go on ahead" I ordered, as they left me alone. "Right now, I've got a few mouths to feed."

I could hear Rose and Sara arguing to try and get the image of me eating the rats out of their heads, while I got through as many of them as I could. Ever since the wolf, I'd found myself drawn to more… unconventional means of sustaining myself. One of which being that I was the "house-cat" in a way, only the mice were more afraid of _me_ than anything else. Let's just say the Tardis became a lot cleaner after my first night.

That didn't stop me from having "ratcicles" for dinner, even though the taste was a bit less… refined. It just meant that we'd have something to eat _other_ than the Doctor's rations.

I finished my "meal" just in time to hear the sound of the sonic screwdriver opening the lock to Finch's office, and I sprinted up as agile and as delicate as I could to not make a sound.

I arrived right as the Doctor got it open and got everyone to peer inside.

"Rose, you know you used to think the teachers slept in the _school_ " he whispered, as I could see through the dark and witnessed a lot of bat looking creatures nestled by their legs. "Well, they _do_."

He'd kept it open long enough so we all could see the number of them inside, before shutting it behind him.

The second he did, Mickey ran down the stairs terrified and wanting to escape, which he did by barreling through the school doors and gasping "I am _not_ going back in _there_! No way!"

The rest of us were close behind him, but less out of breath than he was.

"Those were the _teachers_?" Rose asked the Doctor.

"When Finch arrived, he brought with him seven new teachers, four dinner ladies and a nurse" he counted. "13. 13 big bat people."

"Technically 12, if we're discounting the one _Rose_ saw" I corrected as he began to head back inside the school.

"You gotta be kidding" Mickey exclaimed, trying to stop him.

"I can't" the Doctor replied, turning back around to us. "I need the Tardis to analyse the oil from the kitchen."

" _I_ could try and do it" I suggested, which got a unanimous "No" look from everyone, as I guessed that my previous "test" wasn't something they'd forget.

"Sorry" I apologised, raising my hands slightly. "Anyone else have an idea?"

" _I_ do" Sarah Jane replied, turning to the Doctor. "I've got something to show you."

And with that, she led us to her car and opened the boot, where a tartan blanket covered a shape underneath.

Lifting it off, the Doctor exclaimed in glee as both he and I saw a familiar friend of his beneath it. " _K-9_!"

"Rose Tyler, Mickey Smith. Allow me to introduce K-9!" he announced, as they looked on in contempt. " _Well_ , K-9 Mark 3 to be precise."

"Why does he look so… _disco_?" Rose asked, still not invested in him.

" _Oi_!" the Doctor retorted. "Listen, in the year 5000, this was cutting-edge!"

"So, what happened to him?" I asked Sarah.

"One day he just stopped working" she replied."Poof. Nothing."

"You didn't try and get him repaired?" the Doctor wondered.

"It's not like getting the parts for a Mini Metro" she said. "Besides, the technology inside him could rewrite human science. I _couldn't_ show him to _anyone_."

"Oh, what's the nasty old lady done to you, eh?" the Doctor told K-9 as he felt his ears.

Getting angry, Rose asked "No offence, but can you two stop petting for a moment? We're _busy_."

As she said this and Sara suggested we could go somewhere else to fix K-9 up, I couldn't help but look up at one of the buildings as I heard a faint cry becoming more and more distant. It sounded like one of the creatures we'd heard before, probably spying in case of any "investigations".

"You ok, Marty?" The Doctor asked, as I snapped out of my trance caused by my hearing trying to pick it up.

"Yeah" I said. "Just thought I heard something out there."

"What was it?"

"I don't know. And frankly, I'd rather not stay here and find out."

"Glad I'm not alone then" the Doctor said, opening one of Sara's doors. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" I asked Sarah, as we somehow all managed to fit inside.

"There's a chip shop a few minutes away" she answered, setting off. "That might be a good place to repair him until this blows over."

* * *

True to her word, Sarah Jane got us near a chippie and the Doctor and I lifted K9 out of Sarah's car, trying not to cause him any more damage. Rose and Mickey got their food when the Doctor was conducting his repairs, supervised by Sarah and myself.

"I thought of you on Christmas Day" Sarah told the Doctor as the two of us attempted to reconnect K9's damaged wires. "This Christmas just gone, great big space ship overhead, I thought "Bet he's up there."."

"Right on top of it" The Doctor smiled to her.

"And Rose?" she asked me.

"She was there too" I replied. "So was I, and I got a knife in my heart for it."

"Knife in your heart..." I heard Sarah mutter. "I wonder..."

Shaking herself a bit, she then asked the Doctor "Did I do something wrong? Because you never came back for me. You just dumped me."

"I told you" the Doctor replied. "I was called back home, and in those days, humans weren't allowed."

"I waited for you" Sarah said, looking at both of us with sad eyes. "I missed you."

"Oh, you didn't need me" the Doctor smiled, as our repairs were nearly done. "You were busy getting on with your life."

"You _were_ my life" came Sarah's sharp reply, as all 3 of us shared a sad knowing look.

"You know what the most difficult thing was?" she asked him. "Coping with what happens next, or what _doesn't_ happen next. You took me to the furthest reaches of the galaxy, you showed me intergalactic battles, and then you just dropped me back on Earth. How could _anything_ compare to that?"

"All those things you _saw_ , you want me to _apologise_ for that?" The Doctor insisted, hoping to get her forgiveness for it.

"No, but… you get a taste of that splendour, and then we have to go back!"

"But look at you" I encouraged her. "You were _investigating_. A great companion if _I_ ever saw one."

"You found that _school_ " the Doctor added helpfully. "You were doing what you always did."

"You could have come back" Sarah told him firmly.

"He couldn't" I told her sadly.

"Why not?" she asked the pair of us, who said nothing in response.

After a few seconds of silence, Sarah chuckled and said "It wasn't Croydon, where you dropped me off, it wasn't Croydon."

"Where was it?" The Doctor inquired.

" _Aberdeen_ " Sarah replied.

"Right… That's next to Croydon, isn't it?" the Doctor replied, before Sarah looked at my face again and almost jumped up in shock.

"What? What is it?" I asked her, looking between her and the Doctor in confusion.

" _That's_ where I know you from" Sarah replied in a whisper, pointing at me. "A few minutes after he dropped me off, you arrive at the exact same street and pick me up in your car, _like you knew it was going to happen_. _And,_ you look like you haven't aged a _day_. Who _are_ you?"

"Marty" I replied, looking her straight in the eyes. "Marty Smith."

"But you _can't_ be…" Sarah muttered. "You _can't_ be…"

"I _am_ " I told her, before whispering "I'll tell you later. Right now, we can't make a scene."

Sarah was about to reply, when all 5 of us heard a whirring sound coming from K9, and the Doctor drummed the table loudly, exclaiming "Oh, now we're in _business_!"

"Master!" K9 noted, before the Doctor happily said "He recognises me!"

"Affirmative" came the robot's response, as the Doctor asked Rose for the sample of oil.

"I wouldn't touch it, though" Rose replied, reminding us of what happened earlier. "That dinner lady got all scorched."

"I'm no dinner lady" the Doctor pointed out, putting a finger in it before taking it out. "And I don't often say that."

He then put the oil on a sucker where K9's eyes would be and the dog retracted it, before speaking. "Oil. Ex, ex, ex… Extract, ana, ana… Analysing..."

"Aww, listen to him" Mickey chuckled, being the only one of us who did. "That's a _voice_."

"That's my dog you're on about" Sarah scolded him, before K9 finished his scanning.

"Substance is Krillitane oil."

"They're Krillitanes" the Doctor repeated, looking up at us.

"Is that bad?" Rose asked before he said "Very. Think how bad things could be and add another suitcase full of bad."

"And what _are_ Krillitanes?" Sarah demanded, as the Doctor explained "They're a composite race. Just like your culture is a mixture of traditions from many countries, people you've invaded, or been invaded _by_ , bits of Vikings, bits of France, bits of _whatever_. The Krillitanes are the same, an amalgam of races they've conquered. But they take physical aspects as well. They cherry-pick the best bits of people they destroy. That's why I didn't recognise them. The last time I saw Krillitanes… they looked just like us except with really long necks."

"What are they doing here, then?" Rose asked, before I realised.

"It's the children" I said. "They're doing something to the children. Whatever is in that oil is probably made the children smarter. _That's_ why all the chips are cooked in it. But what would you need that many children for?"

"An army?" Mickey suggested.

"Or something else..." the Doctor muttered, before looking around the chippie. "Come on. We'd better get K9 back into the car. We can get some _proper_ answers tomorrow."

So while us Smiths helped sort him out and push him carefully into the boot of Sarah's car, the Doctor had stayed back to talk to Rose.

"So, what's the deal with the tin dog?" Mickey asked Sarah.

"The Doctor likes travelling with an entourage" Sarah explained. "Sometimes they're human, sometimes they're alien, and sometimes they're tin dogs."

"What about you two?" she asked us. "Where do you fit in the picture?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you" I replied, inching K9 closer into her car. "And that's saying something."

"And you, Mickey?"

"Me? I'm their man in a van, I'm their technical support, I'm..."

"Oh, my God" he realised. "I'm the tin dog."

While the two of them joked and laughed, my ears suddenly picked up a faint squawk, like the sound we'd heard right before we left the school.

"What is it?" Sarah wondered, looking at my face which was almost spooked.

Bowing my head so whoever it was couldn't hear us, I whispered "They're watching us. I can hear them. I heard that noise before I got in your car."

"Oh, my God" Mickey repeated. "What do we do?"

"Just stay calm" I told them. "I'm going to walk to the Doctor and let him know."

By the time I got to the Doctor, he was telling her why he had to leave Sarah Jane behind.

"Doctor, I..." I tried to say, but he was too busy wrapped up in his own rant about life and leaving people he loved behind.

" _Doctor_ " I growled to interrupt him, letting my eyes change from my blue to the wolf's pitch-black ones. " _Look at me_."

The Doctor had his back to me and couldn't see. Rose on the other hand _could_ , and nearly freaked out at me.

"M-Marty? What the _hell_ are you doing?" she almost screamed as the Doctor finally turned around and took notice of me.

"Marty?" he asked, sizing up the situation. "What's the matter?"

"The Krillitanes are here" I mouthed, gesturing with my eyes up to where I heard them. "On one of these buildings."

"How do you know?" the Doctor whispered, pretending to give me a hug to calm me down.

"I heard a squawk from one them, just like at the school. They're listening right now. But they don't know about me. They only know we're here."

"You didn't say _what_ you were yet, _did_ you?" I asked him, looking up at him slowly. "Your… _race_?"

"What do you mean? When I talked to Rose?"

"Yeah."

"No. Why?"

"Because they'll probably use that against you" I told him before looking over at Rose who was confused as hell throughout it all. "I've told Sarah and Mickey to be calm. Us 3 need to do the same, so don't say anything that could compromise us."

"Alright" the Doctor agreed, while he whispered to Rose what we'd just said. Her eyes widened as he spoke, but she understood when the Doctor finished.

We walked towards the car, to find Mickey and Sarah trying to be calm inside. I was about to get in, after letting the Doctor and Rose go first, when the Krillitane came for me, screeching in its bat-like form as it descended hungrily.

"I'm guessing it heard every word" I heard someone say, before I felt myself being grasped in its claws and almost flung into a building as we kept rising, all the way to the roof where "Finch" was waiting anxiously for us.

"Not tonight, bitch" I growled, before I made my fingers elongate into my own claws and stuck them upwards into the Krillitane's stomach, which scratched it, but didn't seem to do any serious harm.

That was until I expanded my jaw to switch to the wolf's teeth where I sharply bit the ankle of the Krillitane, almost feeling the bone, and it howled, dropping me off in front of Finch, just above the ledge, before it flew away in a loud screech.

"How pitiful. Someone with your… abilities doing such an awful job at keeping quiet" he muttered, bending down to me where I'd quickly changed back to normal. "You _do_ know we've been watching you ever since day 1?"

"Yeah, I know" I replied, looking down at Sarah's car, which hadn't moved, despite my current situation. I guess the Doctor had warned them all not to put themselves in danger and to let me handle it. "Not exactly employee of the month, am I?"

"No, and neither are your friends. Which, I'm sorry to say, won't be with us much longer."

"Really?" I asked Finch, who was looking at me with a mixture of intrigue, and _hunger_. "And why is that?"

"You really _are_ stupid, aren't you? What makes you think you'll get out of this alive?"

"Well" I replied, getting up slowly "I know you weren't also gunning for me. You wanted to know about my friend. The one in the coat? He's the Doctor."

"The Doctor?" Finch mused, before he lifted me up by the collar with amazing strength and held me over the edge of the roof, over an alley. "How… interesting. I can't say I've heard much about his species since the Time War began. But then again, I have _you_ to thank."

"That's what you were so keen to discover this night, weren't you?" I asked him, gripping onto his wrist with both hands as he continued to hold me in place. "You weren't just curious about me, you wanted to… "know your enemy". I believe that's the phrase."

"And now that I know _who_ he is, I also know _what_ he is. Thank you, Mr Smith. You've been quite… useful. Unfortunately, I think now I should let you go."

"Very poor choice of words" I choked, before he lost his grip a little and I slipped closer to the ground.

"On the contrary. They're quite fitting for tonight. I'm sorry to see you go so soon, but I can't have you ruining our plan."

"You mean the one with the children's brains being affected by the oil?" I asked, keeping his attention on his "trophy" while I placed my hand slowly over my watch.

"You know nothing" Finch smirked, pulling me closer towards him, and I could almost smell his breath.

"Really?" I mimicked the expression. "So, you're _not_ going to use the children at that school to take over the world?"

"The _world_? My dear lupine friend. The world is only the _beginning_ for us. But then, you won't be witness to it, now will you?"

"Well… speaking of witnesses" I grinned, uncovering my watch's now lit screen showing a 5 second countdown on the smoke bomb. "Now you see me..."

At that moment, it exploded in Finch's face and blinding him as I jerked mine out of the radius, grew my claws out fast and cut his arm severely near the wrist.

The second I did that, he lost his grip, and I landed in the alley below, breaking my back but not dead. A few seconds before impact, I transformed my body into a half state between man and wolf which lessened the impact, but still made the illusion of death to any observers like Finch.

When I managed to shift back into human form, I heard everyone gather around me.

"Marty?" the Doctor's voice asked first. "Are you ok?"

"I'll be fine" I groaned, slowly looking around at everyone before panting. "Are they gone?"

"They've been gone for a few minutes" Sarah replied, shaken from what had happened. "None of us wanted to get out, in case we ended up like you."

"Good thing I'm immortal, then" I sighed with a chuckle, then realised what I had just said. "Oh, God. Sarah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

"It's ok" she understood, backing away slowly. "I had to find out sooner or later. I mean why _else_ would you look the same age as your other self, unless you were a time-traveller like us? It makes sense now. I'm sorry. I just need to be alone for a bit" she muttered.

While the Doctor went away to comfort her, Mickey had taken his coat off and put it around me to protect me and vice versa.

"What did he want?" Rose asked, both of them helping me back to Sarah's car. "Finch, or… whoever that was."

"He wanted to know about the Doctor" I replied as we got into it and drove off. "Who he was, and _what_ he was. I told him, but managed to distract him long enough to give him an injury. I took _his_ blood, now he'll be out for _mine_."

* * *

The next morning, after sorting the TARDIS out and ditching our equipment, Sarah drove us back to school where the Doctor told us the plan.

"Rose and Sarah, you go to the maths room, crack open the computers" he ordered, passing the sonic screwdriver to the latter. "I need to see the hardware. You might need this."

"Mickey and Marty, surveillance. I want you two outside."

"Really?" I asked, approaching him. "Why?"

" _Because_ " the Doctor leaned in to whisper. "I told you _no killing_. Plus, Finch thinks you're _dead_ , so try and _keep_ it that way."

"Is that all, then?" Mickey protested, looking right at me. "Staying guard and keeping an eye on him?"

"Not just him" Sarah replied, spinning around and tossing him the car keys. "Here. You can keep K9 company."

"Leave the window open a crack" the Doctor told us as we both got back in her car.

"But he's metal!" Mickey shouted, closing the door to no effect.

"He didn't mean for _him_ " I replied, rolling my window down to make sure neither of us got car-sick.

"Surveillance..." Mickey muttered looking at both me and K9. "You ask me, that's just another way of saying "Go sit at the back of the class with the safety scissors and glitter."

"Not to mention that one kid with anger issues you don't want to piss off" I added, as Mickey got jumpy for good reasons.

"Don't worry" I sighed, calming him down. "It's taken me 600 years to work through it. Besides, I'm not gonna do anything stupid..."

"I hope not" Mickey replied, scared. "I've seen _American Werewolf in London_. I don't want to end up the friend from that."

"Sorry" I muttered, looking over at him and K9. "It's just… the only company I had during that stint was the Tardis' voice, but even that wasn't enough to keep me sane. I'm only being positive so I don't snap. If I do, I might bring more people down with me."

"I just hope I'm not one of them" Mickey said, optimistically. "Or Rose."

"Yeah..." I murmured, before looking at K9 with interest.

"What is it?" Mickey asked, also looking at him.

"If I had the right tools, I could reconfigure him" I murmured, feeling K9's circuitry and wires. "Try and fix him so he's not as bad as this."

"You can do that?"

"More or less" I said with a smile. "What? You didn't think I was _bored_ during that time, did you? Nah. Robotics was one of the many things the Doctor had in his library. Took me 40 years to get through it, but I'd say it was time well spent."

"Well, when we're done with this, you've got to teach me some of it" Mickey laughed. "Maybe in a lot less time, but as much as you can."

"I'll do my best" I replied, before I petted K9 around the ears.

"You are mad" came Mickey's second laugh as he shook his head. "Talking about and petting a metal dog. Never seen anything like it."

"Well, as a part animal myself, I'm more in tune with my "natural" side" I joked, before showing Mickey my hands. "Even if it means I have to know how often to change and not lose myself in the process."

"I thought you regrew your skin coming back" he wondered, looking at the fact that my hands hadn't fully healed from last night's ordeal and still having a bit of blood around the joints as well as torn skin from when I'd grew my claws out.

"Each time this happens, I need to feed some time afterwards" I replied, concentrating on what regeneration I had left to hopefully heal the last remnants of my injuries. "Luckily, thanks to you finding those rats last night, I was able to give myself a bit of a "midnight snack", so I used the energy gained from that to store and use in the event like this. See?"

As I said that, my skin repaired itself layer by layer until there was hardly any evidence I'd been affected at all.

"I still don't know how you can do that without hurting" came Mickey's shocked and amazed response at how easy it looked to do.

"Who said it didn't?" I looked at him solemnly, leaving the conversation there.

Mickey was about to reply, when I heard the school tannoy tell the children to go to their classrooms.

"What is it?" Mickey asked, as I realised I was the only one with sensitive hearing.

"That's not right" I said, telling him what I'd heard and looking at my watch - which no longer had the smoke bomb in it, but was back to being normal. "The break should be over in 10 minutes, not now."

"So, what does that mean?" Mickey wondered, hoping it wasn't true.

"It means they're about to do their plan" I replied. "Whatever it is. We need to get into the school, now."

Just then, Mickey pointed at the front doors of the school and I looked around to find a child running towards us, only to knock against the glass.

"He's probably the only one!" I shouted, as Mickey raced to help him.

"They've taken all the children!" the child's muffled shout came from the glass.

Mickey ran back to the car and pulled off K9's cloth, trying to get him to start.

"Try hitting him" I suggested, knocking him on the head slightly, which woke him up and prompted him to respond "Systems restarting. All primary drives functioning."

"You're working" Mickey managed to exclaim, before saying "Ok, no time to explain, we've got to get into the school. Do you have, I don't know, a lock-picking device?"

"We don't need one" I replied, noticing the keys still in the ignition.

"What?"

"We are in a car" K9 pointed out to no avail.

"Maybe a drill attachment?"

"We are in a car" came the repeat.

"Fat lot of good you are..." Mickey muttered before the third time K9 repeated himself.

"Wait a minute… We're in a car" Mickey realised, looking right at me in the driver's seat.

"Bingo" I smiled, pointing at the empty seat. "Get in."

"Get back!" Mickey shouted to the kid, who'd done so even as I revved up the engine, reversed to a steady distance, and got ready to floor it at the school.

"Sorry about this, Sarah" I muttered, before accelerating right at the doors and going straight through them which damaged not just them but the front windscreen as well.

Mickey got out and helped the kid who'd came to us, before I shouted ahead and yelled "Take K9 with you!"

"Where are you going?" Mickey asked, taking him out of the car and realising I hadn't moved from the driver's seat.

"The kitchens" I replied, before I backed up. "Something tells me they'll have guards on both sides of that place. Which means that if the Doctor wants to escape, he'll need the back door cleared. And that's where I come in..."

A minute later, I'd left Sarah's car in a location that was just beyond the explosion radius, then walked slowly towards the delivery door to the kitchens.

"Why am I not surprised?" I smiled grimly when I saw one of the dinner ladies standing outside, guarding them. It looked like last night had been quite troublesome for her, seeing as how she was the one I'd gotten a few hits into. Her ankle was holding just about, and her hand was covering her stomach where my claws had scratched it.

"You…" she hissed as I approached, pointing one of her withering hands towards me. "You should be dead. My Brother made sure of that."

"Yeah, I've been getting that a lot lately" I replied with a small grin, cracking my neck and knuckles in preparation for the inevitable. "I'm not one for the "Stay dead" approach. Makes me that much more surprising. Like now, for instance."

"That can be fixed easily" the dinner lady growled in response, before transforming into her Krillitane form, screeching and about to take off and rip me apart.

"Nice trick" I noted with a heavy chuckle, rolling up my sleeves and winding my arms back as she flew up suddenly, before diving down straight towards me. " _My_ turn."

Right as the Krillitane was in full view in its descent, I myself changed into a 55/45 version of my wolf form, with my arms, legs and torso becoming more lupine and stronger than they had been before, and my head not becoming its full version, only retaining the teeth, ears and eyes.

The Krillitane dove with both arms in front of it ready to tear me apart… only to be met with my own claws grabbing hold of them as if blocking a punch, which immediately turned vicious, as I squeezed hard on the wrists and broke them with ease, all the while maintaining a sinister smile to remind her who she was getting fucked with.

" **Like I said** "… I growled as she tried to take off in pain with me holding on tight, my eyes staring at her in anger. " _ **My turn**_."

Immediately, I reached behind her to break off her wings which came off like paper and forcing her to drop like a stone onto one of the school bins below and land on her back before rolling off, bloody and screaming in pain while I leapt off her like a springboard and landed on the ground on all fours with hardly a scratch on me.

"Just… kill… me..." she whimpered, changing back to human form and attempting to crawl back to the kitchens in her messy state. "Make… it… end..."

""Oh, believe me, I want to" I replied happily, getting up and changing back to normal with no effort at all. "But the Doctor _told_ me no killing."

" _However_ " I pointed out, going over to her and picking her up like a rag doll, "He didn't say anything about _mutilation_. And I've done a good job. Wouldn't you agree?"

"You're sick" she replied, spitting blood in my face. "Pure and utter sick."

"Look who's talking" I pointed out, licking it off my lips. "You feed on the weak, fat and healthy children, and use your own oil to exploit their minds so you can what? Make yourselves gods?"

Silence fell as we both knew I was right.

Looking ahead to the kitchen door, I smiled as I held the dinner lady tight with me, walked slowly over, and stopped just before we went inside.

"Enjoy your plan while you can" I told her, both of us staring inside. "It's about to go _up in smoke_ anyway."

She realised too late what I meant, as I opened up the back door and threw her in like she weighed hardly anything, before she skidded across the floor and landed with a crash among the cookers where she hopefully wouldn't be found until the ashes were formed.

"Oh, that was fun" I panted with relief, before I got back into Sarah's car and began to change clothes after that transformation. Hopefully, the Doctor would be too busy worrying about the Krillitanes chasing him to care about _my_ ones.

"Thank you, Tardis" came the mutter from my lips as I remembered how she'd helped me sort out the "clothes" issue by designing me special ones to contort and react to situations like mine. I'd still have to change due to the blood, but at least I had something more fitting than something which could rip easily.

"And now, back in there" I said, looking back at the kitchen doors before racing towards them to find the Doctor. Hopefully, he wouldn't be too far away.

"Marty! How'd you get in here?" Rose shouted as I saw the group heading right for me through the school hallway.

"Back door" I smiled, closing it tight behind the last person while the Doctor examined the vats. "So, blow it all up?"

"Affirmative" K9 answered, rolling towards us. "The vats would not withstand a direct hit from my laser, but my batteries are failing."

"Right, everyone out the back door" the Doctor ordered, letting me take the lead. "K9, stay with me."

"Come on!" I told Sarah and Rose. "I've got the car parked outside. Get in!"

"Wait for the Doctor!" Sarah shouted, staying by the door for him.

"Fine. Rose?" I asked, holding my hand out for her.

"Alright" she replied, taking it and getting in the car as well.

I'd just started the engine and moved it even further out of the blast radius when I looked back and saw the Doctor use the sonic screwdriver on the door and take Sarah with him.

"Oh, here we go" I murmured to Rose as I put the radio on and up to drown out the imminent explosion.

Ironically, or fittingly if you want to say it, it was Alice Cooper's " _School's Out_ ", in the middle of playing during the " _School's been blown to pieces_ " line, when the kitchens blew up and ended up getting rid of the Krillitanes.

"How about that?" I smiled at Rose, who was just in awe and shock at how well that timed.

She didn't say anything, but got out of the car and ran to Mickey to comfort him after the whole ordeal.

Then, I sighed and looked back at the wreckage formed by the Krillitanes. "Good dog" I muttered, knowing about K9 and his sacrifice...

* * *

A few days later, the school had been "under new management" as the papers had claimed, and the students had been given a bit of an extended holiday due to the subsequent explosion. Until then, there were numerous applications for the staff due to all of the previous ones being gone in mysterious circumstances.

As for us, we were ready to leave, but the Doctor invited Sarah to come see the new Tardis before we departed.

"You've redecorated" Sarah remarked when she stepped inside looking around it.

"Do you like it?" the Doctor asked her, smiling as he closed the door behind him.

"Oh, I do" she replied, walking around to where Mickey and Rose sat idly while I worked on the Tardis "undercarriage". "Yeah, I preferred it as it was, but… it'll do."

"I love it" Rose quickly said, already giving her opinion.

"Hey, you" Sarah smiled, before asking "What's 47 times 369?"

"No idea" Rose smiled, adding "It's gone now, the oil's faded."

"Seventeen thousand, three hundred and forty three" I called out immediately, working it out correctly and scaring everyone around me.

"Marty?" the Doctor asked, pulling me out at once. " _You_ didn't touch the oil, _did_ you? You weren't exposed to it at all?"

"Why? Is it right?" Rose asked with worry as everyone now looked down at me.

"Oh, yes" the Doctor muttered with worry, "Which begs the question _"How do you know that answer?"_ "

"Don't worry. It's not the oil" I clarified, calming them down. "I just got a whole lot better at maths thanks to the Tardis. But your _faces_!" I laughed, pointing at them.

"That's not funny" Sarah and Rose replied, both of them punching me in the arm.

"See, you're still clever" Sarah told all 3 of us companions when they'd stopped hitting me. "Clever enough for him."

"You and me both" Rose chuckled, before she turned to the Doctor, who looked at Sarah and stammered.

"Umm, we're about to head off, but… You could come with us."

After a few seconds, Sarah replied "I can't do this anymore. "Besides, I've got a much bigger adventure ahead. Time I stopped waiting for you, and found a life of my own."

"Can I come?" Mickey asked when she'd finished.

"Not with you" he clarified, pointing to Sarah and then the Doctor. "I mean… with you. 'Cause I'm not the tin dog, and I want to see what's out there."

"Oh, go on, Doctor" Sarah smiled, encouraging all of us. "Sarah Jane Smith, and now Mickey and Marty Smith. You need a Smith on board. Or two in this case."

"Well, you know what they say about too many cooks..." I said, looking at the pair of them, which made them a bit sad, before breaking out into a big grin. "But let's see if the Smiths can prove them wrong."

"Nice" the Doctor agreed. "I always did need a bit more of a laugh."

I high-fived Mickey at once, then noticed Rose hadn't been as supportive.

"Rose, it that ok?" he asked her, as she turned away.

"No, fine" she replied indignantly as we all go the sense things still hadn't been patched up with her and the Doctor.

"Well, I'd better go" Sarah said, clearing the silence before walking over to Rose and comforting her.

"What do I do?" Rose asked, looking her straight in the eyes. "Do I stay with him?"

"Yes" came Sarah's immediate reply before turning to face me and the Doctor. "Some things are worth getting your heart broken for."

She gave Rose a hug, before backing off and adding "Find me, if you need to, one day. Find me."

With that, she left the Tardis, with the Doctor and I leading her out and closing the door behind us.

Once that happened, she started by turning to the Doctor and said "It's daft, but I haven't ever thanked you for that time. And, like I said, I wouldn't have missed it for the world."

"That'll be something to tell the grand-kids" he joked, as I laughed at the pair of them.

"Er, I think it'll be someone else's grand-kids now" Sarah replied, prompting the Doctor to realise what that meant.

"Right, yes" he figured out, bowing his head. "I never got a chance to ask. There hasn't been anyone, you know?"

"Well, there were a few people" she replied, looking right at me as she said that, making my eyes wide at what that meant for me. "I travelled with one for a while, but he was a tough act to follow."

"And the other?" I asked, finding my voice and trying not to be scared.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you" Sarah replied, echoing my own words back to me. "And that's saying something."

"Goodbye, Doctor" she said, trying not to cry.

"Oh, it's not goodbye..." the Doctor replied, himself trying to hold his emotions in.

"Say it, please. This time, say it" Sarah pleaded before he finally gave in.

"Goodbye, my Sarah Jane" he said with a smile while I ran through the motions in my head.

" _I hope she didn't mean what I thought she meant"_ I thought hurriedly. _"I can't handle that responsibility_. _"_

As those last words went through my head, the Doctor was getting back in the Tardis, before turning around to me.

"You need a few minutes, Marty?" he asked, seeing how Sarah hadn't left me.

"Y-Yeah" I replied shakily. "I-I'll see you inside."

"Will do" the Doctor saluted, closing the door behind him, before I turned around to Sarah, who looked at me like I was another long lost friend.

"Sarah, I..." I began, before she cut me off.

"You don't know how long it's been since I last saw you" she started, looking at the Tardis then to me. "I mean, you were there when you handed me the keys to my new house. You helped me get set up and everything, but you don't know how I _felt_ at that time."

"Sarah, whatever we have between us, I don't know about it yet" I replied, looking right at her. "You're talking about another version of me that hasn't met you before. An older version of me that's met the younger you."

"I mean, that explains why you knew things before they happened" Sarah reasoned, walking over to me and brushing my hair from my eyes. "And why you were so distant from everyone else. I just thought you were erratic and lonely, but now I get it. Why you look the same age, except you've still not got the hairstyles as your other self, and why you lived in an abandoned house for all those years. It's because of this."

"Because of the immortality, or… my "other" self?" I asked, slowly changing my eyes from normal to the wolf's and back again. "If it's the first, I understand. I mean, look at the Doctor. You really think age will keep him down?"

Sarah laughed, but nodded. "Your other self. You told me you served in the wars, but I thought you were showing off because you looked my age. _Still_ looked my age" she clarified, noting my lack of progression in my appearance. "And that mistletoe and silver didn't agree with you. That's why it was hard to find you at Christmas."

"That was it, right?" I asked cautiously, hoping she knew where I was going with the questions. "We were just… friends…? There wasn't anything… else?"

"No." Sarah replied at once. "You made that very clear. I mean, I loved you like a brother more than anything else. My _much older_ brother, if you like" she laughed, seeing my expression change from panic to relaxed.

"Oh, thank God" I sighed with relief, holding onto her. "For a second, I was worried. Not just for me, but you as well. I mean, even if we _did_ have something between us, I wouldn't want to put you through anything you weren't comfortable with. Especially given my… biology."

"And that's why you and I never went in that direction" Sarah replied, comforting me. "I knew there was something off about you when we first met, but at the same time, every voice in my head was screaming at me to leave you alone. Thankfully I listened to those and accepted a mutual friendship with you. In the end, it all led to something better."

"I'm glad" I muttered, smiling up at her. "The way you made it sound felt like something more than what it was. I'm glad I know now for my future."

"You're welcome. Now, go on, Mr. Smith. Go and enjoy your adventures" Sarah replied, replicating that same smile as she gestured towards the Tardis.

"With pleasure, Miss Smith" I told her, giving her a hug before kissing her forehead in a protective manner. "With pleasure."

As I was about to open the door, I turned around to her and smiled.

"What?" she asked, confused as I gave her one last long look.

"Think of this as a parting gift" I replied, now opening the Tardis door and walking inside to find the other 3 still around the console.

"You feel much better, Marty?" the Doctor asked as I closed the door behind me and joined them.

"Yeah" I replied. "Sarah and I have some history, but it's the good kind. Nothing that needs to be fixed. And it's all the better for it."

"Good to hear" the Doctor replied, looking at all of us before asking one more question with a massive grin:

"Shall we?"

"Do it" all of us agreed, before the Doctor pulled the dematerialisation lever and the Tardis started up again, leaving Sarah behind, but this time, not alone.

"You think she'll like the new model?" I asked him, as we saw her reaction on the monitor to K9 Mark 4 while he followed her home. "I mean, the parts to repair him were all in here, but it was your choice."

"As much as I would have loved to see you repair him, or what little there was of him, getting a new version of K9 was worth it" the Doctor summed up with a sad smile, before switching the monitor to another display. "Even if it did set me back 4000 credits. That's the last time I use a faulty card to pay for one of these. _But_ , at least his memory's the same. Just… a new set of hardware, that's all."

"At least she's happy" Mickey and Rose agreed, for once both of them having a positive expression without worry about the others'.

"He may have been a tin dog, but he was _our_ tin dog" Mickey laughed, causing the rest of us to do the same.

"Come on, then" he said to me, gesturing me to the back of the Tardis. "Show me this library, then."

"Alright" I smiled, leading him towards it. "I just hope you don't get a paper cut… It's a bitch to sew up, even for me..."

"Why do I get the feeling it's only funny for you?" Mickey asked as my grin never faded.

"Because, Mickey, my friend, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship" I laughed, hoping that the Tardis would be more lenient to him than to me…

 **AN 2 - Well, there we go. Turns out Marty isn't all there in the head, but if you were that isolated, you'd be crazy too. Also, this was a good opportunity to write in history regarding Marty and Sarah Jane Smith, because I feel that in Marty's case, he needed someone to talk to regarding the Doctor and his travels, and who better than someone who already thinks of themselves as part of the Tardis family like Sarah? Plus, like Sarah says, she always thought of him as a brother who'd be there for her, even in times like that.**

 **Part of me wants to write a series devoted to the Sarah Jane Adventures where Marty appears in it like the Doctor, but A. It's not on Netflix, B. It won't be cheap finding all of the series - even 5, short as it may be due to Elisabeth Sladen's departure from the world - and C, I may not have time to write it and this at the same time.**

 **But with all that said, next chapter (fingers crossed) we see that history has an effect not on Marty's relationships, but the Doctor's, as we prepare to meet The Girl In the Fireplace. Stay tuned for more.**

 **Until next time. Take care.**


	5. Take On Me

**Of Time, Space and Beyond Humanity Vol 2**

 _When the deadly world of Doctor Who merges with mine, nothing is safe. To end this nightmare, I am sent back through time to find the one person capable of doing so. But what if my actions cause the very future I am trying to save? Well, as a wise man once said: "The future is whatever you make it! So make it a good one!"_

 **Chapter 6 - Take On Me**

 **AN - Yeah. Remember when I said last chapter that it would be "soon" before I updated? Well, fuck me, I guess. I can only apologise. Last year hit me hard in terms of work, so I'm making it my goal this year to finish off series 2, no matter what.**

 **Regardless, here is the next chapter of my story. Last chapter, we went back to school, met up with an old friend of the Doctor's (And Marty's, as it turned out), and defeated killer alien bats. This one, we find out just how quickly time flies when you're having fun...**

"Why do I get the feeling it's only funny for you?" Mickey asked as my grin never faded.

"Because, Mickey, my friend, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship" I laughed, hoping that the Tardis would be more lenient to him than to me…

I'd kept my promise to Mickey about the library, alright. He was just amazed at the size of it, and also the weight of the books.

"I did warn you" I said, getting the Doctor's version of a forklift for them after bandaging Mickey's hand up due to him trying to get one on his own. "Paper cuts. Nasty things. Hopefully it'll take a few hours to heal. That's if I can find the nanogenes first..."

"Nano-what?" Mickey asked after I'd got the stack of books retrieved safely.

"Little robots that look like spores" I explained. "They managed to help me out with both a broken ankle and intense burns on my hands. They'll fix any injury, so a paper cut shouldn't be too much trouble. Of course, it depends on how deep the wound is, so you might be fine. Hopefully."

"You're just full of optimism, aren't you?" Mickey asked sarcastically, scoffing as I'd found some to cure him. "What, did they get you too?"

"Yep" I muttered, "And you really don't want to know where..."

"Thanks for the advice" came his upbeat reply, before the two of us slowly opened up a book on the technology I'd wanted him to see.

"Oh, my..." he squinted, trying to decipher it. "How did you even read this? The Doctor's got _bad_ handwriting. I think I can make out a few letters here and there."

"Like I said. 40 years" I replied with a chuckle. "Most of that time was translation, but I managed to get most of it done into my own writing. Who'd have thought the Doctor of all people would need a transcript of his own works?"

"You're telling me" Mickey laughed, giving up. "So, where's all your notes, then?"

"I wouldn't call them notes" I smiled, gesturing him over to one of the bookshelves which was full of Greek history.

"What do you mean?" Mickey wondered, as I pointed at the book that ironically looked out of place here. "How Troy Was Won – A "Doctored" Account." Those were the Doctor's literal words on the cover, to which I wondered how he could even write his own book among adventuring never mind help unknowingly writing the "official" history books.

"Pull it" I told him as he went to do so cautiously.

Instead of coming out normally, it acted as a switch that swung open a door near us to reveal a large reading room where my versions were present along the walls like a giant conspiracy board.

"You say notes, I say an archive" I joked, letting Mickey take everything in with a laugh, before reaching over to the desk I'd used to analyse the books and opening a drawer which housed a remote control, not unlike a computer mouse.

"You might want to stand back" I advised, prompting Mickey near the door we'd just came in. "The holograms are a little… in your face..."

As he did so, I hit the left button on the controller also pointing at a sheet on the far side of the room.

Within seconds, a hologram emitted from the sheet and displayed the full contents, along with an audio function near the bottom in case I or someone else wanted to listen to my voice for further clarification.

"Ok. That… is wicked" Mickey smiled, pointing at the hologram and the room in general. "You did all this by yourself?"

"Well, when you've got all this time on your hands, why not put it to good use?" I asked, returning it. "Besides, you think this is impressive, wait until you see the arcade..."

"There's an..." Mickey began before shutting down halfway through and then re-asked. "An arcade?"

"Yep. Made it myself. Again, took years, but I made it work in the end. However" I warned, "You _may_ have difficulty beating my scores. I mean, I'm technically the world's oldest gamer, if you don't call up Guinness World Records..."

"You are mad" Mickey laughed, before I turned off the holograms and we'd backed out of the library. "Pure and utter mad. I don't know how you can do this without getting bored."

"Like I said, Mickey. I've got time on my hands, and I want to make the most of it. But, that's only one part of the Tardis. Come on. Your room should be here somewhere..."

A good trek later, Mickey had found his room along with looking briefly into mine, to which he quickly shut the door after looking at the mess within. I'd done my best to keep it tidy after each… "session" but even so, there were still a lot of deep scratches on the wall along with the constant smell of blood, usually something else's.

"Yeah. I'm just gonna stay out of there" he muttered, as we prepared to part ways for the evening. "Don't want to end up like the wall."

"Don't worry" I assured him. "You won't. Others will, but not you. Or the other friends we have here. Just those who don't know when to quit."

"Good to know" Mickey replied, shaking his head. "Well, goodnight, I guess."

"Until next time" I laughed, "Depending on how soon that may be..."

With that, we both went into our bedrooms for the night, one of us getting more sleep than the other. My hearing was a lot more sensitive now, so it meant that I could hear the Tardis' vibrations as if I'd gone right to her heart even from my pillow.

Thankfully, she was there to help me sleep a lot smoother by softly singing " _Hey Jude_ " to calm me down, which would then lead into other renditions of songs like " _Carry On Wayward Son_ ", " _Learning To Fly_ " and so many more. She called it her "Big Bad Wolf" playlist, which I laughed off at first, but then grew to love because of her voice.

"600 years and I've never got tired of this" I muttered sleepily, wondering if she could hear me. "Guess that shows just how much you mean to everyone here."

I never heard what happened next, for I fell asleep content, as she finished her version of " _Your Song_ ".

When I woke up next, the Tardis was still peaceful, again being motherly towards me.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead" she spoke, as I got ready for the next adventure. "Someone like you doesn't sleep, no matter what your pattern is."

"I honestly have no idea what I'd do without you" I laughed, when I'd finally gotten dressed and got something foodwise into me. "I mean you've kept me sane for the past centuries. And that's something I can't thank you for enough."

"Well, seeing as how you got me a voice, I think we're past even" the Tardis seemed to smile. "Now, go on. Onwards to adventure."

"Yes, mother" I chuckled, closing the bedroom door behind me, and making my way towards the console.

I was halfway there, when I felt the familiar shudder of the Tardis landing, and heard the Doctor opening the door, followed by Mickey's voice as he said "It's a spaceship! Brilliant! I got a space ship on my first go!"

"Looks kind of abandoned" Rose's voice echoed, as I finally got to the Tardis door and exited, looking around the new surroundings. "Anyone on board?"

"Nah", the Doctor told her, adding "nothing else."

He then turned and noticed me staggering from the Tardis.

"Sorry, Marty. I should have said" he apologised. "Just wanted to take Mickey somewhere new, and I guess I got excited."

"No worries" I assured him. "Everything's still here. Which is something we both have in common."

I emphasised the ship we were standing in as I finished that sentence.

"You know what?" the Doctor asked, as all of us heard nothing but silence. "I'll just have a quick scan, in case there's anything dangerous."

He then went over to a console in the middle of the room we stood in and accessed the controls to see the situation.

"So?" Rose asked him with a smile. "What's the date? How far have we gone?"

"About 3000 years into your future, give or take. The 51st century."

With those last few words, the Doctor restored power to the ship and opened up the roof to reveal a giant reach of space we'd not seen before.

"The Dagmar Cluster" the Doctor remarked. "You're a long way from home, Mickey. 2 and a half galaxies."

"Mickey Smith" Rose said with a giant smile as both she and Mickey looked out one of the ship's windows and saw a planet a long stretch away, "Meet the Universe."

"You need a hand?" I asked the Doctor, who'd tore away at the litter that was underneath the console and tossed it aside. "I mean, I might know a bit about this sort of thing thanks to the Tardis."

"No, I'm alright" he replied, appreciating the help, but then examined the parts he'd lifted carefully. "Dear me, they've had some cowboys in here. A lot of repair work going on."

"Now, that's odd" he remarked, as we gathered around the monitor he was at, which showed an exterior scan of the ship. "All the warp engines are going."

"Warp engines..." I muttered, trying to remember how they operated. "Doesn't that mean it should be going at full speed?"

"Exactly" the Doctor agreed. "This ship has enough power to punch a hole in the universe, and we're not moving."

"So where's all the power going?" I wondered, before Rose brought up another good point.

"Where'd all the crew go?"

"That is a really good question" the Doctor and I replied, before I spoke first. "The only things I can hear right now are everyone's heartbeats, and I count 5."

"And no other readings of life-signs on board" the Doctor concurred, fiddling with the controls again.

"Well, we're in deep space" Rose remarked. "They didn't just nip out for a cheap fag."

"No, and I've checked all the smoking pods" came the Doctor's quick reply, before all of us got the scent of something in the air.

"Speaking of smoking..." I muttered, picking up the smell first and getting a huge whiff of it, "Does anyone else smell cooking?"

"Sunday roast, definitely" Mickey smiled, before we heard a door open up behind us and we went to investigate.

Inside was a fireplace, ancient by the 51st century, and crafted beautifully along with an ornate clock on top.

"Now, there's something you don't see in your average spaceship" the Doctor muttered as we just stood in awe.

"18th century. French" he said, approaching it and pulling out the sonic screwdriver. "Nice mantle."

"How can this exist?" Rose and I wondered, as we checked both windows on each side of it and stared into nothing but space.

We then heard a child's voice answer the Doctor who'd said "Hello" and repeated it to him.

"What's your name?" he asked, as the 3 of us ducked down to see whose voice was talking to him.

"Reinette" came the reply, as we now saw a child no more than 7 on the other side.

"That's a lovely name. Can you tell me where you are at the moment, Reinette?"

"In my bedroom..."

"And where's your bedroom? Where do you live, Reinette?"

"Paris, of course."

"Paris! Right" the Doctor muttered, before Reinette asked him one of the most obvious questions anyone in her situation would want to know: "Monsieur, what are you doing in my fireplace?"

"Oh, just a routine… fire check. Can you tell me what year it is?"

"Of course, I can! 1727."

"Right, lovely, one of my favourites. August is rubbish, though. Stay indoors."

As Reinette gave him a rightful look of confusion, the Doctor smiled at Reinette and said "Okay, that's all for now, thanks for your help. Hope you enjoy the rest of the fire. Night-night!" he called as we all gave her a goodbye wave.

"Goodnight, monsieur" Reinette replied before we all stood up and "hung up", so to speak.

Mickey was the first one to say anything about it. "You said this was the 51st century."

"Yeah, but he also said this ship was generating enough power to punch a hole in the Universe" I pointed out, as we looked at the fireplace. "And I think we just found the hole in question."

"Spacio-temporal hyperlink" the Doctor summed up, before Mickey asked "What's that?"

"No idea, just made it up" the Doctor admitted, before adding "Didn't want to say "magic door"."

"And on the other side of the "magic door", it's France in 1727?" Rose asked with a slight smile.

"Well, she was speaking French" the Doctor replied, taking another look at the door before taking his coat off, slinging it over into a corner. "Right period French, too."

"But that was English, I heard it" Mickey protested as Rose gave him a hug.

"Yeah, Tardis translation circuits" I told him, scratching the back of my head. "Translates every language, even French."

While I'd been explaining that to him, the Doctor had walked to the fire and pulled a hidden switch, which spun him around on a revolving plinth and took him with it, leaving an identical fireplace and clock where he'd been.

"Doctor!" Rose called out to no avail.

"Okay… anyone else getting _Last Crusade_ vibes from this?" I murmured, slowly approaching the fireplace to investigate.

"Don't touch it" Rose warned me. "One person's bad enough, without both of you doing it."

"I won't touch the switch" I replied, cautiously looking for it. "I just want to know where it was, in case he needs help."

"Well, if it's like _Last Crusade_ , I'd rather take those Nazis than whatever's on the other side of that" Mickey said, as I finally found the switch.

"Oh, you cheeky bastard" I whispered with a smile, as I gathered the other 2 where it was.

"Where?" Rose asked, as I pointed at an angle down to where the switch was just hidden enough to not be seen by the naked eye, unless the user was right in front of it.

"Alright, now, back off" Rose ordered, all of us staying back from the fire. "We don't want to end up on the other side of that."

"Yes, ma'am" I replied with a smirk, joining both of them at the door.

We'd hardly moved a step, when we heard and saw the fireplace move, and the Doctor reappeared along with some "company".

What looked like a man in regal attire was stuck on the fireplace with some kind of sword jammed into the mantle and attempting to remove it with no avail.

The Doctor immediately leapt to a shelf with what looked like heavy weapons, pulled one off and started spraying the opponent with it until it had stopped moving completely, covering it in steam and mist.

"Excellent!" Mickey noted when the Doctor had finished. "Ice gun."

"Fire extinguisher" came the Doctor's correction, as he tossed it back to Rose who caught it with some strength.

"Where did that thing come from?" Rose and I asked.

"Here" the Doctor replied.

"So why is it dressed like that?" Mickey wondered.

"Field trip to France. Some kind of basic camouflage protocol" the Doctor reasoned, walking over to it to examine it further. "Nice needle-work. Shame about the face."

With that, he knocked the "mask" off to reveal what looked like a clockwork robot head which was still ticking.

"Oh, you re _beautiful_ " he said in awe, admiring the detail in what we were shown. I couldn't blame him for essentially fanboying over it. I'd tried to make my own clockwork creations in the Tardis, like a cross between Doc Brown's house and Norman Bates' wall, only a whole lot less of the latter. I may have been a werewolf, but I had standards about animals, no matter how small they were.

"No, really, you are! You're gorgeous!" the Doctor added, putting on his glasses to examine it further. "Look at that! Space age clockwork! I love it! I've got _chills_!"

"Listen, seriously" he told the robot, addressing it directly, "I mean this from the heart, and – by the way, count those – it would be a crime, it would be an act of _vandalism_ to disassemble you."

He then held up the sonic screwdriver in a threatening manner. "But that won't stop me."

Right after this, the robot rebooted itself, turned its head, and pressed on its wrist, which prompted it to vanish from our eyes in a shower of glitter.

"Short-range teleport" the Doctor reasoned, turning around. "Can't have gone far. Could still be on board."

"What is it?" Rose still wanted to know, before the Doctor sternly replied " _Don't_ go looking for it" and walked back to the fireplace.

"Where are you going, then?" I asked in a worried tone.

"Back in a sec" was the only thing he said before he pulled the switch on the fire and it spun around again, leaving us with a repeat of before.

Rose looked down at the fire extinguisher with a curious look, and I recognised it at once.

"Oh, here we go" I muttered, as Mickey tried to stay put.

"He said not to look for it" Mickey pointed out.

"Yeah, he did" Rose replied, before Mickey went over to the rack and took the second extinguisher.

"Now, you're getting it" Rose smiled, before they noticed I'd had my head in a facepalm.

"What?" they both asked, turning their arms around to point at me.

"You two can do this _Half-Life_ thing if you want to" I said, going back over to the controls the Doctor had accessed. "I'm gonna see what this place was, before all _this_."

"You're really going to be Mr. Safety?" Mickey smirked. "Now?"

"Well, if _Star Trek_ taught me anything, it's that an empty ship always tells a story" I replied. "Plus, if I can find the home box, it might paint a clearer picture."

"What's a home box?" Rose wondered.

"Spaceship version of a black-box" I explained, scanning through the controls to find a detailed map of the ship. "Something bad happens to the ship, the last recording will be saved on it. Saves a lot of time when it comes to insurance, but it's still hard to sit through."

"You say that like you've done this before" Mickey remarked, then saw my face, which was trying not to be compromised.

"Yeah" I muttered, attempting not to drag up the Torchwood memories of the ships Jack and I had seen around Cardiff. "Something like that."

"Anyway" I sighed, when I finally saw what I'd been looking for. "I've got the location. Just a bit of walking over there" I pointed to the left while also pulling out a torch and turning it on, "And that should be me. I'll try not to drag it out, but well, that's danger for me. Can't avoid it."

"Right, well. See you around, then" Mickey and Rose laughed, as we went our separate ways around the ship. Me on my mission, and they on theirs.

My senses were trying to disagree with me, as I picked up the smell of whatever was cooking the more I progressed towards the bridge of this place.

"Jesus..." I muttered, almost coughing due to the abundance of it. "What the fuck is that smell? It's like it's burnt. Oof. _Really_ fucking burnt."

I took another big sniff to really get the smell integrated. "No, hold on. That smells… human. But it can't be… can it? Either way… got to find this. Can't get distracted."

"Aha!" I said when I finally found the bridge of the ship. Unlike the place we'd arrived at, which – aside from a few scraps near the console – looked fairly clean, the bridge looked in complete disarray.

The doorway was blocked off by a giant piece of equipment used as a barricade, which I managed to push away eventually, leaving an empty, dark space in its absence.

"Well, this looks promising" I muttered, slowly stepping over scattered debris of the room itself and under flickering wires that hung down like cobwebs, all the while locating the main servers with my torch.

"Now, if I were a home box, where would I be?" I asked, seeing that the room was now starting to smoke due to the damage.

Through the darkness, my torch picked up a few low- level lights that twinkled slightly, before they shut off and I stood closer to see what it was.

When I did, I was shocked. I had found the terminal for the home box, or what remained of it.

The main console was ripped apart, like something wanted to get at it, leaving splinters everywhere and exposed cables and wires poking around like feelers. Some of which even looked live after all this time, which I was careful to avoid. Didn't want to end up electrocuted before I'd got started here.

However, there looked like a second console was there as a backup, smaller in size and mostly intact, and I went to see if it still had power running to it from the ship.

When I saw that it had the bare minimum, I followed the cables back to the wall and matched them up as best I could.

"Come on..." I pleaded, re-attaching the cables to the various ports on the console and checking the monitors on both sides. One of them was broken with a crack along the bottom left corner, and I figured that it would stop working as soon as this loaded up.

The one on the right, however was mostly in one piece. The screen was good, but the frame was almost off, and my worry was that if I somehow touched it akin to breathing, it would collapse, so I let it be.

"Alright, you" I said to the console, typing in every command I could think of to get it to accept something and power up. "Show me the good stuff."

When this didn't work, I grew frustrated and did what any person would do when technology isn't agreeing with them: Take your anger out on it and hope it's learned its lesson.

"Come on, you son of a bitch!" I yelled, wondering if I'd connected it wrong, but was surprised to find out I'd done everything correctly.

"For fuck sake" I growled when I'd moved back around to the console, almost going wolf on it. "Fucking… _work_!"

With the last bit of my anger, I'd thumped hard on the console's top, which somehow put it back on the road, and provided power to itself and the monitor.

" _Thank you_!" I told it, grateful and angry for a second, before checking out what it had inside.

"Ok, here we go" I said, finding the log files of the ship, nearly all of which were in audio format. Most of them were corrupted after being left this way for so long, but the four that were still functioning looked ok for now. Still hadn't found the name of the ship among the data, but that might come later in one of these recordings.

"Right, let's see" I muttered, starting with the earliest one and playing it.

Thanks to the quality of the current equipment, along with how far back the recording was, it didn't go off to a great start, but got better the more they were played.

"T...s.. is... Sh...p….Mad….. Po…..our..." the message began, with a woman speaking through the heavy static. "So….y...fo...la….com….. Equ….me….up… Sta…up...tom…."

The message then skipped a bit, before the woman came back stronger, saying "Ok. Managed to fix the equipment. Don't know why that was. Must just be the parts we got from the manufacturers. I told them not to go for second hand prices."

"Alright, nothing there" I said, as it finished after her last sentence. "How about the next one?"

"Repair droids look okay" the second recording began, also voiced by the same woman. "Been helpful for the past few years, but their ticking creeps me out. Still wonder why they made them that loud. I mean, I get it's to try and keep with the times, but they couldn't have put a dimmer switch on their gears? I swear, one of these days I'll be shocked by one of them and I won't recover..."

"Still nothing…." I muttered, looking at number 3 which seemed the most recent, only a few years ago. "Alright, what's in store here?"

"Coming up to the Dagmar Cluster" the woman's voice started. "It's been ages since I've seen this galaxy. Never thought I'd be in a crew doing it, but that's what you get when you sign up for this. Should only be a few more days we see this place in all its glory. I could die happy if I could witness this place again..."

"Really?" I asked, still not getting a straight answer from this place. "Alright, what's this final entry?"

As it turned out, the last entry was the home-box itself. Unfortunately, it didn't start right away, and I had to thump on the console with a lot of strength without somehow breaking it in the process. This ended up playing the video recording alright, but also making a massive clanking every so often which I didn't want to fix without messing up. This may have been my only chance to view it before shit really hit the fan.

"Ok..." I muttered, before I hit play. "Show me..."

A few seconds later, the recording began, only really grainy. It showed the crew working in a normal situation, but then a female one noticed something outside the window that looked like a storm in space and yelled out "ION STORM! LOCK DOWN ALL SYSTEMS!", to which everyone tried to get to cover before it hit.

"Calling all traffic! Mayday! Mayday!" she yelled, which was the last thing the recording registered before it cut out, and I thought that was the end of it. But somehow, it managed to kick back on and show that same crew member laying at her console, hoping someone would get her.

As I heard her voice in my mind again, my heart sank and I realised that this was the same member I'd been hearing the recordings of. I was watching her last moments as she succumbed to this.

But that wasn't what happened. That's not what her final breath was.

A familiar ticking was heard as the home-box showed a set of feet approaching her and she said "Thank God. Help me."

Then she tried to stand up in fear as the noise got closer, asking "What are you doing? Get away! Get back!"

Her last moments, and the recording's, were of her screaming as the robot ended up doing… something. I didn't want to know, so I turned the recording down and off as to minimise any hearing loss for me. But even though I'd got that noise dealt with, I still heard a loud ticking somewhere close to me.

At first I thought it was still the console, but then as I slowly looked up at the black empty monitor in front of me and back at my reflection, for a few seconds, a flash of sparks from one of the exposed ceiling wires lit up an ominous and familiar figure standing right behind me, and I gazed at the sight in fear, all the while hearing its ticking.

"That's a dick move" I told the robot – which had somehow found its mask and stared at me with its hollow, black eyes – when I managed to find my voice, looking around at my minimal environment to see if there was anything that could help without it coming closer to do me in. "Approaching someone in the dark with a convenient sound cover-up. Horror movie 101."

When the robot didn't respond, except with a clockwork blade coming out of its arm that I heard springing out and dodged quickly away from thanks to my now advanced senses, I tried to talk to it all the while moving around the console.

"So, there was an ion storm and the ship got battered, is that right?"

Still no answer from the robot which persisted in this "ring around the rosies" situation.

"Look. I'm a mechanic" I told it, not with-holding the truth. "Whatever happened, I can help you. Trust me."

The robot advanced towards me, almost within reach with its still out-stretched blade, pushing me around the back end of the console, and as I tried to lift my leg over the cables on the floor, that's when I realised where I was in relation to the used console. Or more specifically, its exposed wires.

I held my breath and gripped one of the wires by the casing, hoping the wire inside would still have a current through it, then thrust it up at the robot's arm in an attempt to stun it at the same time it swung down to attack.

Unfortunately, Newton's 1st Law kicked in right away and the effects were instant for both of us. The robot burned fiercely due to the amount of power flowing through the wire, and I flew back like my namesake when he'd put Doc Brown's speaker to overload.

I landed hard against a wall, almost breaking it due to my weight, and lay there for a good few minutes as the electricity quickly took hold and paralysed me completely before giving me another heart attack, this time fatal.

When I came to, after taking in another breath, I noticed that my clothes were blackened by the contact I'd had to the wire, and my face felt like it could be a Tesla coil just by one touch.

That was me, though. The robot, however, still hadn't recovered from that ordeal. It was still in literal shock, in the same stance it had taken when it attacked, and hadn't gone back to normal.

Breathing heavily as I got myself back up, I looked around for a heavy insulator I could use to unmask it and hopefully reconnect to the computer, which – after the amount of effort it would take to find one - I just thought "Fuck it" and lifted my jacket off to act as one, peeling the scorched remains of the robot's disguise off it slowly, until it looked completely bare.

"Not… so tough… now, ...are you?" I wheezed, looking right at the robot's now bare and empty frame. If it moved now, it would be a fucking miracle.

I looked all around the robot, trying not to touch it directly with my hands, hoping to find some kind of manufacturer's logo, or even the name of this ship it was on.

I was about to give up hope, when I saw a small tag, almost microscopic on its back, and I leaned right in to see what it was, hoping the torch would give me help in deciphering it.

"So much for getting an eye test" I muttered, squinting to see it, wishing I'd brought a magnifying glass with me.

The writing was worn and scratched, like the robot had knocked against something and took out half of the text without realising.

"Mad...Po…..our" I said slowly, reading what was there and remembering that the woman had said the same thing in her first recording. "The fuck does that mean?"

Either way, I had had enough of this place for now. I just needed a rest.

"I knew it was a bad idea to wear a Flash t-shirt" I grumbled, looking down at what remained of it, with the logo in the centre completely burned away by the electricity, leaving only the red frame around my chest, almost like I was Tony Stark, except no arc reactor for my heart.

With great effort after that ordeal, I staggered out of the room, moving almost as mechanically as the robot, and tried to go back to the Tardis.

On the way, I bumped into Rose and Mickey, who were still searching their section, and were gobsmacked when they saw my current appearance.

"What happened to you?" Rose asked, approaching me slowly, only to be stopped by my slowly raising hand.

"Bumped into our friend from the fireplace" I replied with a weak smile. "Gave him a bit of a shock. But it also ended up taking me down for a bit, so I might still be live. Try not to touch me."

"Will do" Mickey noted, then asked after a few seconds "Find anything out from the home box?"

"Yeah" I gulped. "Someone's last moments. They were cornered by one of the robots and screaming. Don't need to say anything else."

"Jesus..." they both muttered, shivering after hearing that, then Rose spoke up.

"That sounds like what we found on our walk."

"Don't start this again" Mickey replied, almost unimpressed, before I looked Rose right in the eye and asked "What did you find?"

"There was… a heart" she said. "Wired in to the machines. And a camera with an actual eye."

"Fuck me..." I whispered, trying not to be sick. "That's just messed up."

"Tell me about it..." Rose replied, before we passed by what looked like a window in front of a fancy room, and Mickey pointed it out, saying "It's France again. We can see France."

"I think we're looking through a mirror" Rose told him, as I still tried to catch my breath and held my arm out on the frame.

"Blimey, look at this guy" Mickey scoffed, as we saw a trio of people enter the room, led by a regal looking gentleman and 2 women beside him. "Who does he think he is?"

"The King of France" the Doctor's voice called out, as he stepped behind us and watched through the window as well.

"You took your time, then" I told him, before he smelt my clothes and almost coughed the same as me.

"What happened to you?" he asked. "Crossed a wrong wire?"

"Nope. Had to deal with our friend Clanky" I replied. "Let's just say we're both feeling a bit stiff."

"If you say so" the Doctor muttered, before Rose asked him "What you been up to?"

"Oh, this and that" the Doctor replied, stepping away from me and towards her. Became the imaginary friend of a future French aristocrat, picked a fight with a clockwork man."

We all then heard a horse neighing behind the Doctor and he pointed it out. "Oh, and I met a horse."

"What's a horse doing on a spaceship?" Mickey asked in confusion.

"There's pre-revolutionary France living on this ship, and _that's_ your question?" I fired back. "Talk about perspective..."

"See these?" the Doctor wondered, pointing at the window/mirror. "They're all over the place, on every deck. Gateways to history. But not just any old history. _Hers_ " he pointed at the woman on the distance. "Time windows. Deliberately arranged along the life of one particular woman. A spaceship from the 51st century stalking a woman from the 18th! Why?"

"Who is she?" Rose asked, amazed by this.

"Jean-Antoinette Poisson!" the Doctor announced. "Known to her friends as Reinette. One of the most accomplished women who ever lived."

"So, she's got plans on being Queen then?"

"No, he's already got a queen" the Doctor pointed out. "She's got plans on being his mistress."

"Well, she's ambitious, I'll give her that" I laughed, then the Doctor looked at her and the king and said "I think this is the night they met. The night of the Yew Tree Ball. In no time flat she'll get herself established as his official mistress, with her own rooms at the palace. Even her own title, "Madame de Pompadour"."

"I repeat. Ambitious" I chuckled, then after a few seconds, it hit me what he'd called her.

Madame de Pompadour.

"Mad… Po… our." That's what the writing said on the robot, and the first message by that crew-member. But that was impossible.

"No..." I muttered, then looked up at the woman in question through the glass. "No… it can't be..."

"Can't be what?" the Doctor said, noticing how concerned I was with her. "What is it?"

I was about to reply, then the Doctor and I spotted a broken clock in the room behind her, and a second later heard a familiar ticking through the glass.

"Oh, not again" I muttered, as the robot quickly turned to face Madame de Pompadour.

Immediately, the Doctor took Mickey's fire extinguisher from his hands and pushed the glass around like a revolving door with it at the ready, before saying to a rightfully shocked Reinette "Hello, Reinette, hasn't time flown!" as he burst through.

"Fireplace man!" Reinette replied in fear, before noticing us other 3 who'd joined the two of them in her room, after the Doctor had doused the robot with the extinguisher and made it stop, even if momentarily.

He tossed the extinguisher back to Mickey then walked over to the robot, as Mickey held his on standby in case it attacked again.

"What's it doing?" he asked the Doctor, who still hadn't moved.

"Switching back on" came the latter's simple reply. "Melting the ice."

"And then?" I wondered with a worried look.

"And then it kills everyone in the room" the Doctor said, before the robot came back online and tried to kill him at once.

"Focuses the mind, doesn't it?" he asked, stepping back swiftly, before asking the robot "Who are you? Identify yourself!"

Realising he was getting nowhere, he desperately turned to Reinette and said "Order it to answer me."

"Why should it listen to me?" she queried in fear.

"I don't know, but it did when you were a child. Let's see if you've still got it."

Reinette then looked at the robot with a stern expression. "Answer his question. Answer any and all questions put to you."

The robot then looked at her in understanding, then replied "I am Repair Droid Seven."

"So what happened to the ship, then?" The Doctor asked it. "There was a lot of damage."

"Ion storm" I replied sadly, interrupting the robot as he turned around to me. "I found the ship's home-box. That was the last recording. That, and a bit more."

I then looked right at the robot. "How much damage was caused by the storm?"

"82% systems failure" it said simply.

"That ship hasn't moved in over a year. What's taken you so long?" the Doctor wanted to know from the robot.

"We did not have the parts" was all the robot responded with.

"Always comes down to that, doesn't it?" Mickey laughed. "The parts."

"What's happened to the crew?" the Doctor demanded. "Where are they?"

"We did not have the parts" the robot repeated.

"There should have been over 50 people on your ship. Where did they go?" came the Doctor's second query about that issue.

"They never left" I replied, in the same sad tone, taking a deep breath. "They didn't have the parts. And the last thing the recording showed was a woman screaming as one of them approached her. 3 guesses what happened..."

"We found a camera with an eye in it" Rose added with an uneasy look as I shuddered after saying that. "And there was a heart… wired into machinery."

"It's just doing what it was programmed to" the Doctor muttered. "Repairing the ship any way it can, with whatever it can find. No-one told it the crew weren't on the menu."

He then turned his head towards the 3 of us. "What did you say the flight deck smelled of?"

"Someone cooking" Rose replied with a glum look.

"Flesh plus heat" the Doctor finished. "Barbecue."

"So, what are you doing here, then?" I asked the robot, who still hadn't moved. "The time windows here take up a lot of energy. Why come here and not to a repair yard?"

"One more part is required" the robot said, looking directly at Reinette, to which the Doctor turned to face her, then back to the robot.

"Then why haven't you taken it?" he wondered.

The robot tilted its head and replied "She is incomplete."

"So, that's it?" the Doctor questioned it, guessing its plan. "You just keep opening up more and more time windows, scanning her brain, checking if she's done yet?"

"Why her?" Rose piped up. "If you've got all of history to choose from, why specifically her?"

"We are the same" came the robot's simple response, which annoyed Reinette to no end.

"We are _not_ the same! We are in _no sense_ the same!" she yelled, only to have the robot repeat its answer.

"Get out of here!" Reinette ordered. "Get out of here this instant!"

"No, don't do that!" I shouted, which unfortunately did nothing as the robot teleported away.

"It's back on the ship!" the Doctor called out, pointing to the window and ordering "You three go and take Arthur! Get after it. Follow it. Don't approach it, just watch what it does."

"Arthur?" Rose and I asked.

"Good name for a horse."

"You're not keeping the horse" Rose protested as I said "It's alright. I'll take him with me."

"I let you keep Mickey. Now, go, go, go!" the Doctor yelled, closing the glass behind us as we parted ways again.

"Come on, Shadowfax" I told Arthur, leading him back to the Tardis. "We'll get a new home for you. Don't worry."

"Now, you stay here" I ordered, tying his reins around a nearby pole so he couldn't run away. "I just need to find my key. Where did I put it…?"

Just then, I heard Rose scream out Mickey's name from a distance, followed by the two of them hitting the deck.

"Shit.." I muttered, running towards them, then turned around quickly to face Arthur. "I mean it! Don't move! I'll be back!"

"Mickey! Rose!" I shouted across the ship, only to hear silence in response.

Well, silence, and the omnipresence of the ticking droids as they echoed like an eternal metronome.

"Shit" I muttered, when I came across where their weapons had been, but they were no-where to be seen.

"Ok…" I whispered, moving as slowly as I could to pick one of them up. "It's a small ship. They couldn't have gone far."

Suddenly, the ticking of the robots grew louder, and I realised they were on the hunt to find me.

I'd just picked it up to feel the weight of it when one of the robots appeared in front of me at the end of the corridor like it was the Terminator, and pulling hypodermic needles from its sleeve.

"Stay back" I warned it, waving the extinguisher like a flamethrower. "Don't make me use this."

The robot advanced, unperturbed by me, until I began to fully spray it in the face with the extinguisher and hoped that I'd cooled it down enough.

It didn't move for a few seconds, and I knew that I'd have to leg it now before it woke back up.

I'd just edged around it, with the last of my clothes behind it, when I immediately heard its gears start turning again and I ran away as it turned like it was on a music box.

"Oh, _come_ _on_!" I shouted in exasperation, seeing that there was more than just one of them approaching me now, all of which either had needles or their blades at the ready.

"You will come with us" The lead one announced, needles held out like claws. "You are compatible."

"No thanks" I told it, backing up a safe distance. "I've already had my donor card filled."

And with that, I held on to the trigger of the extinguisher for as long as I could, soaking the robots in the mist and freezing as many as possible despite the rapid decline of the tank's contents. It held them off for a few seconds before I kept making my way through the ship, but in the end it ran out of foam and spray and I chucked it behind me to lose the weight.

Still the robots persisted, chasing me inside the records room until it was clear there was nowhere else to go. Or so it would seem.

Then they noticed the robot I'd got rid of earlier still there as a statue, and crowded around it, hoping to reactive it with their current tools.

When their efforts proved futile, the lead turned to me.

"You will activate Repair Droid Five. You will do this now."

"How?" I asked, looking right at it, and wishing that the room wasn't going to end up like a zombie movie. "I shocked it completely. It won't move."

The robots were persistent. "You will activate it now."

"Alright" I muttered, going back to the console and noticing that the exposed wires still hadn't gone completely dead from the surge. I might be able to get out of this after all.

"I need a conduit" I told the robots. "Otherwise this will happen again, only much worse."

"You will be the conduit" the robot ordered. "You will activate it now."

"If you say so" I murmured, then slowly looked at all of the robots' faces and smelt the air. They may have defrosted themselves as best as they could, but I still smelt moisture on their clothes as minuscule as it may seem, and I began to grin.

"You want a conduit…?" I asked, pulling out more exposed wires from the console. "You got it."

And with that, I held them up to the closest robot and watched as the residual electricity left from my earlier excursion arced between all of the robots and caused them to temporarily shut down, while I dropped the cables and sprinted from the room, praying that it had bought me more time for their recovery.

I made it back to the Tardis, only for Arthur to neigh and grab my attention.

"What is it, boy?" I asked, then turned around slowly, to find Rose and Mickey strapped in what looked like repair arches for the droids, both of them waking up.

Rose was the first to get up, asking "What is this? What's going on, Doctor?"

"Rose, Mickey, shhh" I whispered to them, while also listening out for the robots. "It's me. I haven't got long."

"What do you mean?" Mickey demanded, moving his head around fast to look.

"I managed to hold off the robots" I told them. "Not for long, but it should give me enough time to get you two out of here."

"What's that supposed to mean, "should"? Rose demanded, before I immediately made a zipping motion with my mouth and pointed to the halls as I heard the ominous ticking.

"They're coming" I mouthed, trying to find a good hiding place away from the robots, hopefully behind the Tardis. "Try and keep them distracted. I'll find the Doctor."

"Arthur, you keep quiet" I told him, backing away and going over to the fireplace.

"Here goes nothing" I muttered, pressing the hidden switch on the fireplace, which spun me around, replacing the view of the ship with a French interior of a bedroom complete with open windows and doors.

"Now, where is he?" I wondered, making my way towards the latter when I got bumped into by the man in question, wearing his tie across his head like a bandanna and either goggles or sunglasses while simultaneously carrying a wine glass filled with something that definitely didn't smell of wine. If anything, it had an oily fragrance to it.

"Marty?" he asked me, taking the eye-ware off as if he couldn't believe his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean "What am I doing here?"" I asked him smacking him on the arm. "Trying to find you. Rose and Mickey are strapped to tables, and the robots think we're part of the main course. They came after me as well, but I stunned them and managed to escape. Meanwhile you're, what? Partying like it's 1999?"

"1747, actually, but I get what you're saying. Don't worry," the Doctor winked, before he brought his glasses down and pulled me over to a mirror that back to the ship. "I've a little surprise in store for them. Just watch me."

With that, he pushed the mirror like he'd done with the other one and went through it, while I closed it behind us tight in case anyone else from that century followed us.

The second we'd got back on the ship, the Doctor started prancing about like he was drunk, singing "I could have danced all night! I could have danced all night! And still have begged for more! I could have spread my wings and done a thousand..."

He cut off when he noticed Mickey and Rose strapped down to the tables while I kept hidden in an alcove so they wouldn't spot me but I had a good angle of things.

"Have you met the French?" he asked them, keeping up the facade. "My _God_ , they know how to party!"

"Well, look at what the cat dragged in" Rose replied in a huff. "The oncoming storm!"

"Ooh, you sound just like your mother" he remarked.

"What have you been doing?" Rose demanded. "Where have you been? Marty said he was away to find you, and it's only you who's come back."

"Well, among Marty and other things, I _think_ I just invented the Banana Daiquiri a couple of centuries early. Do you _know_ , they'd never even seen a banana before? Always take a banana to a party, Rose. Bananas are _good_!"

It was then he said "Oh, brilliant! It's _you_ " and I figured he was talking to one of the robots upfront. "You're my favourite, you are! You are the best! You know why? Cause you're so thick! You're Mr Thick, Thick, Thicketty, Thick-face, from Thick-town, Thickania. And so's your dad!" he added as an afterthought.

"Do you know what they were scanning Reinette's brain for?" he pondered loudly so I could hear him. "Her mileometer. They wanted to know how old she is. You know why? Cos this ship is 37 years old. And they think when Reinette is 37, when she's "complete", then her brain will be compatible. Cos that's what you're missing, isn't it? The command circuit for your computer. Your ship needs a brain. And for some reason, God knows what, only the brain of Madame de Pompadour will do."

It was then that one of the robots who'd interrogated Rose spoke, saying "The brain is compatible."

"Compatible?" the Doctor retorted. "If you believe that, then you probably believe this is a glass of wine."

And he poured what was in his glass over the robot before it immediately shut down.

"Multi-grade anti-oil" he explained as I slowly got out of my hiding spot. "If it moves, it doesn't."

As the robots realised their leader had been taken down, they started to advance on the Doctor, who immediately leaned over the controls and flicked a few of the switches to make them end up the same way.

"Right, you two" he told Mickey and Rose as he used the sonic screwdriver on their shackles. "That's enough lying about. Time we got the rest of the ship turned off."

"Are those things safe?" Mickey wondered as I came out of my hiding spot and helped the two of them off the tables.

"Yep. Safe. Safe and thick. Way I like 'em" the Doctor told him, gathering us all around the console he'd used to turn them off. "Okay, all the time windows are controlled from here. Need to close them all down."

He then patted his pockets, looking for something. "Zeus plugs, where are my Zeus plugs? I had them a minute ago; I was using them as castanets."

"So why didn't they open a time window to when she was 37?" Rose wondered, as the Doctor ran back to the other side of the console and activated more of the controls.

"The damage to these circuits, they did well to hit the right century. Trial and error after that."

The windows aren't closing. Why won't they close?" Came the Doctor's mutter, as he kept trying to shut the power down.

"There's probably one still out there" I said, looking at the ones we'd just came through. "The only question is _when_?"

Suddenly, we all heard a clock chime ring out before Mickey asked "What is that?"

"I don't know" the Doctor said. "Incoming message?"

"From who?"

"Report from the field. You were right, Marty, there _is_ one out there with Reinette. _That's_ why I can't close the windows, there's an override."

He pulled a lever on the console and the robots we thought were powered down shot right back up again, giving all of us a jump at how sudden it was.

The robot closest to the Doctor started leaking the anti-oil from its hand, until it dripped onto his shoe, and he muttered in uncomfortable brilliance "Oh, that was a bit clever."

A second lever sprang up, releasing more of the robots from their slumber, surrounding us with their distinct attire and empty faces.

"Right" the Doctor said as we tried to figure a way out of this situation. "Many things about this are not good."

Another chime rang out, making him ask "Message from one of your little friends? Anything interesting?"

"She is complete" came the robot's answer. "It begins."

And with that, they all teleported away in succession, before we were left with just ourselves.

"What's happening?" Rose asked.

"My guess? They found the right time window" I replied grimly. "They're sending in the troops, and this time, they're bringing back her head."

While Rose went to warn Reinette about her beheading, I went back to the Tardis and got changed into clothes that didn't smell like a house-fire. Little did I know what would happen during this.

"There must be something we can do…." I heard the Doctor mutter through the Tardis' open doors as he tried to control and shut down the time portals. "There has to be…."

"I know" I murmured in reply, not wanting to tell him yet about this ship's great secret. "I know..."

The moment I'd got changed and started going back towards the main doors, the screaming began to erupt from the speakers at the console.

"That's my voice" came Reinette's obvious and concerned voice as she heard herself shout out "The clock on the mantle is broken! It is time! Doctor!"

"Marty, come and help me!" the Doctor shouted, noticing me get out of the doors. "I need another person for this!"

"How many windows left?" I asked, pulling down the switches as I was ordered. "We must be getting close."

"Almost there" came the Doctor's immediate reply. "Just a few more and we'll have it."

We kept up our pursuit of the amount of time windows at such a great pace, it was like playing Twister with an octopus.

Our goal was almost in sight, when we saw the visuals in the time window behind us sync up with the audio of Reinette's screams, and we knew we'd cracked it.

"You found it, then?" Rose asked, as both she and Mickey joined us after talking to Reinette.

"They knew I was coming, and they blocked it off" the Doctor said angrily, moving back to the main console.

" I don't get it. How did they get in there?" Rose demanded.

"They teleported" I told her. "You saw it. As long as both the ship and the ballroom are linked, their short-range teleports will do the trick."

"We'll go in the Tardis!" she suggested, before the Doctor shut her down.

"We can't use the Tardis, we're part of events now!"

"Can't we just smash through?" Mickey asked, to which I pointed at the glass.

"There's hyperplex on this side and plate glass on the other. We'd need a truck to do it."

"We don't have a truck!" Mickey shouted, while the Doctor and I yelled together "I know we don't have a truck!"

"Well, we've got to do something" Rose retorted angrily.

"Rose, if we smash that glass, we break the Time Window as well" I said, helping the Doctor as best I could. "There'd be no way back from that."

The second I finished that sentence, we heard Reinette shouting from the other side of the glass, telling everyone to calm down.

We heard a few seconds of her talking, before the Doctor suddenly got up without speaking, a new anger in his eyes.

We watched on in silence, as he made his way to Arthur, unhitched him, climbed on, and rode his way to the back of the ship's hallway before turning around to the time window.

"Move" was the only word he said, before we did so as he tugged hard on Arthur's reins and they galloped straight towards the time window.

From our safe place away from the glass, we could only watch stunned as they stormed through the glass and towards the ballroom, which shattered on impact, and blocking off both sides at once.

"What happened?" Mickey asked, being the first one to speak after a few seconds. "Where did the Time Window go? How's he gonna get back?"

Rose was in tears, still not speaking. I was speechless, but not that emotional.

Finally managing to talk, I said quietly "He went through to save her, he had a one-way trip, and he'll find a way. He always does."

"Oh, really?" Mickey asked me, almost getting aggressive and in my face. "How do you know what's gonna happen?"

"I just do. And remember, Mickey. As pissed off as you are now, you _really_ don't want to do the same to me. I told you before. I'm that kid with anger issues. Make me angry, and you will regret it."

"Alright" he said, after a few minutes of trying to calm the two of us down. "I'm sorry. I really am. But I just don't know what to do. None of us do."

"Wait" he said, remembering what I'd said to them at Christmas. "You told me and Rose about the Tardis. About what you'd installed. _And_ you showed me how it works, so we could..."

"No" I shut him down at once, knowing what he was getting at. "It's too risky. Even with me controlling it, even partially, it's not going to help. Besides, you heard the Doctor. If we interfered with that, just for a little bit, we'd be part of the events. I'm sorry, Mickey, but the best chance we have is waiting."

And wait we did, for what turned out to be hours. Thankfully, even though I banned us from using the Tardis "properly" until he returned, I was able to make food using one of its many kitchens, and even set up a poker game for us to keep us occupied outside, along with a few books in the library.

"I don't even know why I'm playing with you" Mickey grumbled as he lost for the 6th time. "How do you get that lucky without cheating?"

"Really good poker knowledge?" I wondered with a smile, looking at Rose, who had also been playing, but kept folding every so often. "That, and you need to work on your tells. You blink rapidly when you've a winning hand, and your lip twitches when you've a bad hand. Trust me to point it out."

"Besides" I added, "That was a new deck, and I never touched it aside from shuffling it on my turn."

"Yeah, but all that money, _and_ those cards? You're doing something here. I just don't know what."

"One more game" I promised him, passing the cards around to Rose, who shuffled them again, all the while looking back towards both the broken time window and the fireplace, hoping for the Doctor's return."I promise. Your luck will change."

"Fine. 1 more" Mickey said, as Rose dealt the cards out for us, then I looked at mine.

An ace and a 3 of clubs.

"If it makes you feel better, I'll go all in now" I told the two of them. "I know you can't match up, but at least you'll win more than you lost."

"You know what?" Mickey smirked, looking at his own hand. "Ok. I'll see you."

"Rose?" I asked, before Mickey put his arm around her to comfort her.

After a few seconds, she looked down at her hand and almost diminished chips, before doing the same thing, silently.

At this point, we all turned our cards over to see what we'd got.

"Well, I thought I won this, but luck's not on my side" I laughed, showing Rose and Mickey my poor hand.

"Still better than me" Rose muttered, revealing a 4 of spades and 8 of diamonds.

"Read 'em and weep" Mickey smiled, holding up a pair of kings, clubs and hearts respectively.

"Alright. You won this. Now, let's see what we've also got" I said to Rose, who began to turn over the community cards.

The first 3 cards were played, being a king of diamonds, a 5 of hearts and a 7 of clubs.

Mickey's face was happy when he saw his trinity, but then quickly realised what else was at stake, and he was scared.

"Oh, please" he muttered, looking right at Rose. "Please..."

With nothing else to do for the hand, Rose turned over another card: A 9 of clubs, and Mickey remained on edge as I watched with glee.

"All she needs is a..." I teased him.

"Shut up. Don't say it" Mickey muttered, as Rose turned over the final card of the game.

A king of spades. Mickey had won.

"Yes!" He yelled, throwing the cards down on the table, then collecting the winnings.

"Thank you, God!"

"Told you" I smiled, then looked over to Rose, who'd also bust out of the game.

I'm sorry" I told her. "I know you would have wanted to win. But I didn't want to make him a sore loser."

"It's alright" Rose sighed, before we stood up and tidied everything away. "I know what you meant. I'd have done the same thing."

I was about to reply, when we both heard (me more than Rose) the sound of the fireplace moving around again, and the Doctor's voice coming from it.

"No..." we both realised together, looking at it, before the Doctor ran back from the fireplace towards us, and were met with our open arms.

"How long did you wait?" he asked, as all 3 of us hugged him in turn thanks to his return.

"5 and a half hours" Rose replied with a smile.

"Always wait 5 and a half hours" the Doctor grinned, before noticing what we'd had out to keep us occupied.

"Your idea?" he asked me, looking at the books and what remained of the poker game.

"Well, better than nothing" I said, helping Mickey get everything back in the Tardis.

"Where have you been?" Rose asked him, as he seemed on edge.

"Explain later; into the Tardis. With you in a sec!" came the only response, as he went back over towards the fireplace.

"I mean, this time, we know he's coming back" I laughed, watching Mickey go first into her before I followed behind, watching for the Doctor to join us again.

"You coming, Rose?" I asked, before she replied "Yeah. Just give me a sec."

"Alright. We'll be here at the console if you need us."

A few moments later, she joined us, then the Doctor walked back in, closing the doors behind him with silence.

As he made his way towards the console, Rose broth the silence with 2 words.

"Why her?"

She clarified "Why did they need the head of Madame De Pompadour to repair the ship?"

"We'll probably never know" the Doctor replied. "There's massive damage in the computer memory decks, it probably got confused.

The Tardis can close down the time Windows now the droids have gone, should stop it causing any more trouble."

"God, I'm stupid" I muttered, facepalming as I finally remembering what I wanted to say earlier.

"What do you mean?" the Doctor asked, looking at me.

Sighing, I said, "I think I know the answer about the connection."

"What is it?" Rose wondered, as I sat down on a seat and said "The ship is called the _SS. Madame De Pompadour_. I heard it earlier on one of the ship's logs, but it was scrambled, and I didn't know what it meant. Then when the droid attacked me, I saw a tag on its back, the same name as what I'd heard. I didn't put it together fully until _you_ toldus her title."

I pointed at the Doctor with the last sentence, as everyone just looked stunned, trying to process it.

Continuing, I added "I would have said earlier, but we had to stop her being killed, and I forgot all about it."

Summing up, I said "This ship was probably a memorial to her, letting visitors watch her life play out. Then, when it got hit, they had to salvage her head to keep it running. Even if it meant time messed up in the process."

Again, everyone was stunned, not saying anything, so they could get to grips with it.

"Look, I'm sorry I brought it up" I apologised, noticing the still silence from everyone else. "I just wanted to say it before I forgot again."

Knowing I couldn't get out of this another way, I just left without saying another word and went back to my room to contemplate.

"Did I do the right thing?" I pondered out loud, before the Tardis spoke.

"I'd like to say you did, even though everyone is still processing it. I know it's hard to put facts before emotions, but you did it well. If even one part of you thinks it created a better outcome, you'll be a better person in time."

"Thanks" I smiled up at her. "That means a lot coming from you."

"My pleasure, Marty. My pleasure."

And as we felt her depart from this place, part of me wondered what the next adventure would bring, no matter the cost…

 **A/N - Again, sorry it took so long. But better late than never. Although, poor choice of words given the situation we were in there. But I digress.**

 **Anyway. Next chapter, we see what happens when old enemies return, and scare not just the Doctor, but Marty as well...**


End file.
